A Call on Deaf Ears
by TDoW
Summary: You're moving up in the galaxy, one foot after another. But what are you going to do when the starts beneath your feet start to flicker and die? What are you going to do when death itself awakens?
1. Chapter 1

"Ladies and gentlemen of all ages and species! Welcome to the Armax Arsenal Tournament! We have an amazing show for you all, where people and teams of all races, species, nationalities, and creeds come together to beat the ever-living shit out of each other! Last cycle we saw an amazing finish by the galaxy renowned Asari fighter Eria T'nal who single handedly knocked out 2 of the 6 other finalists and killed 2 more. An awe inspiring display of grace and raw power, it will surely be a tough act to follow this cycle, especially since she will be participating again this cycle.

For those who are joining us for the first time let me break it all down. The tournament is broken down into 4 events, matches of 1v1, 2v2, and 4v4 with a finale of the winners from each event competing in the free for all event at the very end of the tournament. As far as rules go, within the arena there are no rules. It's survival of the fittest, kill or be killed. If a combatant is unable to continue they are considered eliminated. This is generally done by total knockout, expulsion from the arena physically, or death. The matches themselves also possess no time limit so it goes until there is one group standing.

Before each match the arena is randomly generated by the Armax Arsenal Arena VI. The environment is a fully immersive holographic setup meaning while it is fake combatants can be thrown, impaled, crushed, and shot into the obstacles as if they were real!

For those that win there is a lot on the line: large credit prizes, weapons and armor, and even jobs, bounties, and contracts. For this cycle the tournament winner has the chance to receive a fully paid and sponsored Cord-Hislop Aerospace starship! Capable of FTL travel, possessing an array of both passive and active sensors, military grade kinetic barriers and ablative armor, and a basic GARDIAN system, this ship is definitely a winner and a must have for those who venture beyond the Terminus Systems, and who deal frequently with pirates and bandits.

Alright ladies and gentlemen starting in just 1 hour the 2v2 matches will begin. Begin placing bets, and downing drinks because this cycle appears it's going to be _mind-blowing_! Good luck combatants and may the best person survive!"

….

"Holy shit, did she just…."

"Yeah, she did. Wow that's brutal." Ruby shudders at the scene below.

Down below a woman wearing a Devlon Industries matte gray and hot pink striped light combat armor with jet black boots is currently wrist deep into her opponent, Omni blade glowing brightly on the other side of him, blood boiling off the orange glow of the molten metal trapped within a mass effect field that makes up an Omni blade. With shoulder length dark brown hair and blood speckled on her face green eyes meet the blue of the Turian below her. For them it feels like an eternity, to see who would fall first. For everyone else it was but another adrenaline-fueled moment for with another breath another combatant has been eliminated.

"WOW! What an amazing execution! After an impressive display of finesse and power between both combatants Sarah Ma'Larke has just leveled with playing field by eliminating her opponent, similarly to how her partner was eliminated only moments before! For there can be only one standing, who will it be?"

Down below a beaten up yet intimidating human woman is squaring off against a much larger Krogan in full battle gear.

Hailing from a world devastated by nuclear war Krogan are an extremely resilient species. Standing at a typical 7 feet tall and upwards of 500lbs on average and reptilian in appearance they can be devastating in close quarters combat, which is a generally Krogan-preferred combat style. To aid in said combat style Krogan possess extremely thick hides of skin all across their bodies which make them naturally impervious to conventional cuts, scrapes, and contusions.

"Despite that there's no way Ma'Larke can win. She is going against an experienced Krogan single handedly. One whom is not only well equipped but also still in good shape, which she is not." declared the taller blonde brawler

"Yeah but don't forget that she's an experienced bounty hunter whom has been in way crazier situations than this, and she has taken down Krogan before. Remember her fight with the Blood Pack on Omega? They say she single handedly took down a dozen Krogan in an attempt to take down their leader."

"Don't forget Rubes that that's just a rumor, one she hasn't even confirmed. And we both know she LOVES to brag about her previous contracts." mused Yang as she remembered the two of them running into Ma'Larke at the nightclub on the strip a few nights prior.

"Because OBVIOUSLY she won't brag about a contract that she failed, duh. Even if what she accomplished WAS impressive…." _CRACK_

Down below in the arena Sarah Ma'Larke is flying across the arena space in a rag doll fashion before slamming into the backside of a barricade.

"EEP! That looked like it hurt." frowned Ruby whilst rubbing her lower back in sympathy. "I take it back, she's done for."

"Wow, way to turn your back on her, glad to know you're reliable" her older sister chuckled "And is that a declaration of defeat? Because I can take your credits now if you want."

The sisters had placed a bet on which team would win, with Ruby voting for the Ma'Larke team and Yang rooting for the Krogan's team.

The Krogan slowly advances on Ma'Larke whilst drawing a large semi-automatic shotgun from his side holster. Weapon extending and unfolding the Krogan begins to fire despite not fully bringing her into aim. The sound of the gun's discharge spurs her to move, rolling behind the nearest barricade.

Thinking quickly Ma'Larke begins taking stock of the situation. _Think think think, I'll be damned if I die to a damn Krogan in a fake battle!_ Ignoring the leers and cheers of the crowd she continues. _No grenades, no guns, and no time. All I've got is a couple of broken ribs, my Omni-blade, and…. Perfect!_ Without fully thinking it through the body is biotically lifted and thrown at the Krogan. In an instinctual reaction the Krogan aims and fires, failing to see a pair of smoke grenades rolling at his feet. At the same time the body is eviscerated the grenades go off filling the area with a putridly dense grey fog. Not wasting time Ma'Larke biotically lifts herself to her feet and charges in low, orange streak at her side on a direct course for the Krogan's knee.

With a twist and a jump a quick 1-2-3 stab to the back follows, not doing much damage, but then again it's but not supposed to. Instead that opened up the real target. As Ma'Larke came up and over the Krogan an opening in the top head plate armor is revealed. With the last ounce of strength and energy she has she slams the Omni-blade home, shotgun firing wildly under her in an attempt to connect and maim his opponent. With the blade mere centimeters from the brain the extreme heat of the molten metal from within the blade roasted the brain, killing the Krogan before the body could hit the ground, with Ma'Larke landing on top; exhausted but alive.

"Damn, that could've gone so wrong. Good thing it didn't. Pay up!" grinned the redhead

"Not even mad that was ballsy. Just don't eat too many sweets, we've got our match coming up shortly," As she swiped her Omni-tool over her sister's.

"Yeah yeah." she chuckled, already walking away

….

The crowd was going wild for Ma'Larke, having finished the match with an impressive finisher, especially against such a difficult opponent. Fighting against her later on in the tournament would be quite interesting, the woman mused. Turning away from the holoscreens light blue combat jump suit swishing faintly as the fabric moved the woman began making her way out of the stands. Glancing at the roster board at the back of the arena she confirms the next contestants. "Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long" she mused quietly. Not much was known about them, they seemed to be new to the scene.

Having grown up on Earth the two women were recent graduates of a fairly prestigious combat school, Signal Combat. Located on the island of Madagascar Signal Combat is home to a large number of soldiers and medics in training. Possessing an incredibly difficult survival course those who attend will be well versed in subjects such as first aid, short and long ranged combat including hand to hand and weapons training, tactics and reconnaissance, as well as biotics training for those who possess the aptitude for said ability. It is generally advantageous to attend as those who do get extra advancement options when joining various military factions, more credibility when picking up bounty hunting contracts, and the ability to attend more rigorous galactic universities.

Of course, who needs a silly school when you had the greatest instructors and minds that money had to offer. Walking to the main atrium she orders a Thessian Temple from the bartender and heads up to the balcony seating to get comfortable for the next match.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! So far this tournament we have seen some amazing matches and some even greater finishers. But don't worry folks, the show is only just getting started. Next up we have an interesting matchup. On one end we have human and Asari combination.

Hailing from Feros they are private security by day and an adorable couple by night. But don't let that adorableness fool you, they can be extremely vicious. Having a confirmed kill count of 56/64 respectively they have shown to do whatever it takes to get the job done. But the question is do they have what it takes to get this job done? Because on the other side we have a fierce tag team duo, both human females. Being new to the arena scene they have a long way to go and a lot to prove! But don't worry folks they both have a bit of credibility having graduated top of their classes from Signal Combat School, Earth these sisters have some bite to them. The real question is, are they about to bite off more than they can chew? In just a few moments we'll find out! So take your seats, but only the edge as that's all you'll need for this match!"

Ah, yes. Tucking a strand of white hair behind her ear she recalled hearing briefly on the news how the younger sister had somehow graduated early for stopping some massive terrorist theft and protecting almost a billion credits in ammunition and weapons grade Eezo. By doing so she had showed not only bravery but combat tactfulness and prowess, fearlessness yet caution. That and made a few friends, higher up. Despite what was said she wasn't convinced. A multinational terrorist organization rumored to be involved in everything from genetic experimentation, weapons and creature smuggling, theft on massive scales, and many more how could a single girl have held off such an organized group? Was that girl in the right place at the right time or is she actually competent on the battlefield as the news made her out to be?

With icy-blue eyes on a face that showed no emotion she gazed out onto the arena floor as both teams marched out.

With the field having been generated only seconds before the human/Asari team walking out from the bottom left and the sisters coming out from the top right. Standing between them was a sloped arena, almost spherical, like a bowl. At 4 equidistant points were tall towers that connected at the top to form an X over the playing field. Below there are two L shaped steel crates with the shorter side sticking straight up, parallel to each other and several floating holographic plates randomly scattered around the arena ranging from 2 to 4 feet off the ground. And to literally wrap it up is a yellow and gold railing ringing the arena on the left half and open pit on the right. The railing itself coming up 3 and a half feet off the edge of the ground. The floor itself is a cold white steel checkered plates.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen here are your combatants! Coming in from the right we have the Earth born sisters, Ruby Rose in red and Yang Xiao Long in dark gold. Coming in from the left we have the human male and Asari tag team, Verner Trippe in a black with green striped suit and Tara Sel'core in a dark green with black striped suit. That's absolutely adorable ladies and gentlemen how they complement each other!" chuckled the announcer "And now let's see if it extends past fashion sense into the battlefield. Welcome again your next combatants, and enjoy the show!"

And with that the two teams faced each other and squared off.

"5…4…3…2…1…FIGHT!"

Before the word fight could be completed Yang is charging across the field rapidly losing the distance with Tara. _CRACK_ moments before Yang lands a punch with her omni-gauntlet a sniper rifle is discharged and the succeeding round slams into Tara's shield and shredding it, slamming into her right shoulder, knocking her back and off her feet. At that moment a left cross/right uppercut to the face and stomach respectively slam Tara into a pillar hard enough to crack her helmet visor and stun her.

 _While that was an impressive one-two from them it leaves a lot to be desired, such as the fact that Yang left her guard down and just got pummeled by a biotic shockwave from Verner_. The white-haired woman thought.

Which at that moment Yang was busy trying to pick herself up as Ruby provided cover sniper fire from atop one of the pillars behind her. Switching to Cryo ammo Ruby began aiming to pin Verner's limbs to the floor when she is suddenly lifted into the air and pulled forward off of the pillar and onto the ground several feet below, weapon skittering away over the side of the arena.

"Ruby!" Immediately a barrier is fabricated and wrapped around the younger one as she gathers her breath back. Before it is completed the barrier is shredded by machine gun fire and several rounds slam into Ruby's shield causing it to spark and lose power.

 _What are they planning?_ The woman thought. With Ruby down and Yang focused on her they failed to see Tara and Verner closing in from the right.

 _You would think that hailing from Signal would mean they have a better awareness of their surroundings._ The woman tuted. _With Verner's heavy weapon out and Tara's biotics charging up they are about to get blindsided hard. Definitely not the shortest match in the arena but close._ Smirked the woman, whom herself failed to see what was really happening.

Yang spins around unleashing a shockwave on Tara and throwing Verner back. While Tara was prepared for such an event and countered with a barrier around herself Verner was less so and was expectedly thrown back and knocked off balance. Without waiting for time to catch up Yang biotically charges forward and releases another shockwave in front of her fist at the same time her secondary shotgun gauntlet discharges. 3 rounds slam into him pushing past his shields and knocking him flat over the edge of the arena as mass effect fields engage and the chambers slide back on their rails absorbing some of the recoil.

"And there it is folks! The first knockout of the match, which goes to Verner Trippe! While he fought bravely that final hit is definitely going to leave a mark and bravery isn't going to heal that!" the announcer said, laughing at his own terrible joke.

Using the remaining recoil from the gauntlet she flips over and around hitting the ground running. Heart slamming in her chest it only sped up when she realized what she was looking at. What was supposed to be Ruby having put shotgun rounds into Tara's helmet and chest plate was instead Ruby being held up in the air with her own heavy weapon instead floating in front pointing at her.

 _It seems they underestimated Tara. The shockwave was supposed to stun Tara and take down her barrier but all it did instead was damage it. With this having failed she was able to react in time to Ruby jumping up and above her to come down point blank. It was pretty smart to be honest. Use Ruby as a honeypot to draw them in and semi-ambush them. Too bad it failed._

Doing everything she could Yang put everything she had into getting to Ruby. Mustering all strength she charged forward, using a biotic push/pull combination to go faster, then follow through with a lift right as she jumped. Pushing Ruby out of the way of the weapon was the only thing she could think of. Because of this she failed to think of what would happen if she got hit with the heavy weapon instead of Ruby. Which is exactly what happened.

Pushing Ruby out of the way of both the weapon and the biotic influence of Tara Yang was left in the void to absorb the discharge of the heavy weapon. Time seemed to slow as the rocket propelled grenade slammed through her barrier and shield and splashing against her armor with enough force to melt the first few layers of the chest plate and then systematically smash her into the wall of the arena beyond the edge of the ring. Unconsciousness was the only thing that followed, long before she hit the floor.

Having been knocked out of the air unexpectedly all Ruby could do was eat the floor as she tumbled, heat and debris from the explosion peppering her back. Sliding to a halt near the edge of the arena she recovered enough to spin around and see Tara lock onto her, having apparently recovered from the surprise blonde missile only a moment before. It was apparent that she was getting tired, not unto the fact that so was she. Picking herself up she bolts across the arena and dives behind the L shaped obstruction and checks herself over. Noting the missing shotgun and mini-grenade launcher she was left with a handgun and a Cryo grenade. She also noted that her shield was still down and unrepairable at the moment, due to the looming possibility of imminent death. What a lovely thought.

"What's wrong little girl? Running scared now that your partner has been eliminated? Maybe you should take a lesson that that happens! If you're too scared to fight now then you're more than welcome to stand up so I can eliminate you. Make it nice and quick, I promise!" Tara taunts

 _Who says I'm scared? I'm not scared! I mean it's not like my sister just took a freaking grenade to the face or anything. Alright, I can't worry about her. I need to focus. She'll be fine, she promised._ Ruby thought frantically

Trying to buy more time she again sprints around the edge of the arena and jumps up onto a pillar, then to another.

 _Running in circles isn't going to do much, though it will make her a bit harder to miss she is still out in the open, a wide open target. Tara on the other hand appears to be in decent shape having not gotten hit by any rounds, though having spent a fair bit of energy maintaining her barrier and her abilities._ The snow-colored haired spectator observes.

Turns out running in circles paid off, having spotted one of Yang's gauntlets on the floor Ruby had an idea, albeit a crazy one. If it didn't work then...well it would be the end of the match either way. Sprinting and dive-rolling to grab the weapon she again vaulted behind a pillar. Crouching down she caught her breath and waited, listening for Tara's approach. Hearing the boots clomp on the steel plates she lobbed the grenade up and to the right behind her. Without waiting to hear the detonation she grabbed her own handgun and slung it across the steel plating, having it bounce and spin and creating a lot of noise. As the gun was thrown the grenade detonated prematurely due to being struck by a round from Tara's own handgun. At the sound of the grenade's demise Ruby vaulted the top of the pillar and dove forward into the cloud of frost left behind. What came through was a streak of red and a glimmer of steel on her wrist, followed by three simultaneous _fwoomps_ as each barrel discharged directly into the front of the helmet's visor. At such short range both the barrier and the visor stood no chance as both shattered in a spectacular visage of sparkling light. The woman was sent spinning head first backwards before hitting the floor with floor with a thump.

With that being said laws are absolute and Newton was going to get his dues as Ruby, not having proper training with such a weapon, was unprepared and sent sideways from the recoil. The weapon itself flung off her wrist where it slammed into the pillar and subsequently broke into multiple pieces.

"And that ladies and gentleman is the end of the match! And what a show that was! My heart's still racing hahaha. The winners of the match are Yang Xiao Long and Ruby Rose. Congratulations! And for everyone else feel free to stick around for the match recap and commentary followed by the next match!"

 _Huh, well that was…daring. It worked, but it was extremely reckless. She should have played it safe from cover, then again if they had Yang would still have been in the match. I better not join them in battle because that's how you get yourself and others killed._ And with that final scold the woman exited the arena and disappeared into the crowds leaving Ruby to be escorted out by medics to join the other 3 combatants in the medical center.

….

2 hours later

Walking rather stiffly Yang and Ruby exit the medical center. Medigel having fixed almost all of their wounds was a boon to galactic society. Having been developed by the Sirta Foundation it is an all-purpose medicinal salve that is both an anesthetic and clotting agent used by paramedics, EMTs, and military personnel. It is capable of healing various wounds and ailments including gashes, burns, gunshot wounds, etc by instantly sealing various injuries against infection by the use of an ultrasonic frequency, generally administered by an Omni-tool. Recent advancements in the formula which makes up Medigel have allowed it to work on more complex structures such as bone and critical organs such as hearts, lungs, liver, etc. Due to its ease of production and ubiquitous usage in most facets of society it can be found just about anywhere and is also a common staple in most households' medicine cabinets.

"Sorry about breaking Celica, I didn't realize how crazy the recoil was. The medic said it was a miracle I didn't dislocate my shoulder with it." Ruby frowned. She felt horrible for breaking her sister's weapon, and with only one of two it would make further matches more difficult if they couldn't fabricate a new one ASAP.

"It's alright, I mean I only took a grenade for you, no big deal." teased the older sister whilst ruffling the younger's hair. "But seriously it not only won us the tournament but helped keep you safe, well I wouldn't necessarily call what you did safe but you're not gravely injured or dead so there's that. I'll go build a new one later, it should only take me a few hours in the workshop upstairs hopefully."

"You sure? I can rebuild it in half the time, after all I should be the one to do it since it's my fault it's broken." And that particular statement is not untrue. Ruby's particular obsession for all things dangerous and explosive has left her with a particular skill when it comes to various weaponry.

"Yes, you're fine Rubes. It saved your life after all so it was worth it. I'll rebuild it later. But first, let's get some food, I'm starving."

Having auto-piloted their way to the backend of the Silversun Strip there were everything from food stalls, restaurants, and markets. A little bit of everything, cuisines ranging from Earthen Italian to Thessian Shirvan (A traditional Asari dish made by steaming a variety of fish indigenous to Thessia, served with a spicy sauce). This is to allow diverse range of cultures and residents of the Citadel to get a little piece of home or expand their horizons and try new things.

While the market here on the Silversun strip was nothing compared to the ones on the upper and lower wards on the Citadel it certainly didn't leave much to be desired. Taking a right off the main strip takes you to an avenue with a smooth gleaming silver stone walkway with buildings on both sides. Bright holographic neon signs light up the area advertising and drawing in all those who come near. Looking up beyond the signs and buildings you can see the other four arms of the citadel, the faint flickers of light of vehicles as they navigated their way through their busy lives weaving in and out of buildings and flying between the arms.

The Citadel itself is a marvel of alien innovation and vision. Built by the species that inhabited the galaxy long before it stands as a symbol of strength and unity for the races that now live within the galaxy. Weighing in at 7.11 billion metric tons with a total length of 44.7km when the arms are open the Citadel serves as a central political and cultural point for the galaxy. In the center is a central ring 7.2km in diameter, from which all five arms of the Citadel protrude, each 43.6km long and 330m thick. Gravity is artificially created through the rotation of the colossal deep-space station. It sits at a comfortable 1.02 G's on the Wards and a light 0.3 G's on the Presidium Ring.

The arms themselves are capable of closing, normally only done in times of extreme emergency. Doing so would transform the citadel into a long impenetrable cylinder. The central ring of the Citadel consists of the Presidium, spaceports, and home of the Citadel Council. The Citadel Council, whom are a small governing body made up of individuals from several of the most powerful galactic species, have ultimate authority when it comes to happenings throughout the Milky Way.

Walking their way down the street awash in neon glow, the duo stumble upon what appears to be a large aquarium. Floor to ceiling clear as crystal glass treats passerby to the view within: aquatic creatures of all kinds bask in the waters within. Fish of all shapes, sizes, and colors. Eels, sharks, dolphins, and jellyfish abound. And if it weren't for the glass a new creature would join possibly join them in awe, one with two legs, black and red hair, and a red cloak whose face was presently pressed up against the glass.

"Oh my gosh they are so pretty! Look at all of the different kinds, I've never seen so many before. If only we could buy one, or two, or twenty…"

"I don't see why we can't, I mean we're here. Might as well if that's what you want then it sounds good to me." she smirked knowing full well Ruby didn't realize what this place actually was.

"Can we really?!" bouncing up and down rapidly

"Of course, depends on how hungry you are though. Personally, I'm famished."

"Wha...why would we eat them?" Ruby shouted, arms thrown up in the air in exasperation.

Without saying anything Yang simply points upwards at the sign. _"Ryuusei's Sushi Bar"_ shone brightly in pink neon lettering. "Oh…" The disappointment shown on her face, temporary dreams crushed of owning brightly colored alien fish. And as if at the snap of a finger the smile returned and excitement shone in her eyes. "Let's go in anyway, I'm hungry."

"Alright hungry, lead the way."

"Wow, that joke was so bad it almost killed those fish." Ruby laughed as she walked in.

Walking inside it was clear the restaurant was quite popular as it was packed with clientele of all origins. Walking in on a strip of red carpet led the way to an Asari in a knee length blue dress which complimented her skin tone with a black jacket and black boots to match. "Welcome ladies to Ryuusei's Sushi Bar. Will it be just you two today or will others be joining?"

Asari are an interesting alien race. Often considered one of the most influential and respected species in the galaxy they are the backbone for the galactic community. Having been one of the first species to achieve interstellar flight and subsequently to colonize the Citadel, with the help of its silent caretakers- the keepers, they have aided many races achieve a galactic presence.

Asari resemble humans in terms of basic stature and skeletal structure. This allows them to wear human clothing, armor and equipment, and vice versa. Averaging height at around six feet they possess a blue to purple skin color. Instead of hair they possess a series of semi-rigid segments of cartilage, or 'tentacles' starting at the human hairline and flowing backwards. One of the unique features of the Asari is their significant lifespans compared to other races (although similar to the Krogan) which can be upwards of a thousand years.

"Nope! Just us two for today." Ruby piped, flashing a smile at the hostess.

"Of course. Presently it appears that we have a spot available up at the bar, will that be alright?" Behind and to the left of the hostess a couple dozen paces away was a long bar. The bar itself was an extension of the aquarium seen outside, as was the entire floor of the restaurant. Behind the bar was an Asari and two Turian bartenders rapidly concocting a variety of cocktails. The area itself was rather well lit with mixtures of white and neon blue. This accentuates the water and its inhabitants all around the restaurant while making the place seem more relaxed, yet exciting.

"Of course, we'll take whatever is available."

"Splendid, right this way." she said as she picks up two menus from the booth and walks up the few steps to the bar.

Behind the bar are several layers of shelves with all manor of liquors, including many severely lethal types to humans. Above the shelves float multiple holoscreens with a variety of programs playing, including recaps from the tournament and the news. Artistically hanging from the ceiling are strips of white light and gleaming silver bars, as if it came out of David Sarif's office itself.

"I'm starting to have second thoughts about coming here, it seems like it is rather expensive and we need to saving as many credits as we can." Ruby said worriedly

"Honestly it doesn't matter how expensive this place is, tonight we've earned it. More importantly _You've_ earned it. Not only did you save my life but even more importantly you got the round winning hit. That was some seriously quick thinking. So with that said consider dinner my treat." Yang said with a cheeky grin

"Haha your treat, as in with _Our_ money you know, in the one account we share? Listen sis, I love you and all but we can celebrate another time, together as a team. Don't forget you also saved my butt in there _And_ took out that Trippe guy. It wasn't all me out there."

 _Look at her being so…mature about the situation. She's starting to grow up isn't she? Dust, I just want to hug her right now._ Despite the sobering thoughts Yang refused to show her confliction and instead turned back to the menu. After flipping the page she found something that would crush any protest her younger sibling could potentially muster. "You know I did have a surprise for you here, but if you really want to leave then I guess we could…" trailing off knowing Ruby would take the bait. Her curiosity would override any self-control. It usually did.

"I mean we could maybe stay a couple more minutes. The fish are pretty and sharing is caring and since you care you should totally share that surprise with me." The look in those silver eyes of hers, like a flock of golden retriever puppies wanted a treat or to be petted. Fighting it was futile granted, she had no intention of doing so to begin with.

"Well I'm glad you two are willing to stay. I assure you the sushi here is top notch, and I'm not saying that because I work here." The Asari bartender chuckled "Sorry for the intrusion, I'm Aveena and my two coworkers are Markus, he's the one with the red tie, and Serlor. Have you ladies decided what you wanted to drink?" Aveena was exceptionally pretty, even for an Asari. Despite her skin tone sitting hard on the blue side of the color wheel there was a faint shade of purple mixed in. With purple eyes and red facial markings, 3 small triangles under her left eye and one under her right pointing down. Standing at a height of 5"11' she was on the lower end of average in height. All of this wrapped up in a well fitted suit that showed off her slender yet muscular shoulders, hourglass figure, and long legs.

Quickly realizing her jaw was hanging open Yang snapped it shut and regained her composure enough to remember her drink and order. "Not a problem at all I assure you. I'll have a Strawberry Sunrise, no ice. Oh and one of those little umbrellas." Shooting the Asari a warm smile when she finished.

"Of course miss, and what would you like?" Ruby having been completely oblivious to Yang's initial reaction to the bartender was busy trying to decide what she wanted. "Uuhh I guess I'll just have water please." "Of course miss." Aveena spun around to prepare their drinks.

"So, what's the surprise?" Yang was sitting there pretending to be debating on it. "Honestly it's not really a big deal. I can still pay for my drink and we can go if you want."

"No no no you can't do that! Tell someone you have a surprise then take it back. That's rude you know." Ruby huffed and crossed her arms, doing her best to appear annoyed. It wasn't working too well. "Wweell I was planning on surprising you with this." Sliding the menu over, second to last page Yang tapped the picture in the top left. The caption read" _Pizookie: A small pizza sized cookie partially baked to a warm, gooey perfection. Topped with vanilla ice cream and hot fudge it's sure to please those even with the largest of sweet tooths."_

"Oohhmmyyggoodd" Ruby practically drooled, eyes wide with desire "You know I take it back we can totally stay on the condition I get one to myself."

"Haha of course, although you're going to let your big sister have a bite right?" eyes narrowed suddenly "Mmh we'll see." Clearly pondering if it was worth sacrificing a bite of perfection.

"Sorry about the wait again ladies, here you are!" Aveena having returned with the drinks "Have you two by chance decided what you wanted to eat or did you need another minute?"

"Well apparently we know what we are doing for desert, but for dinner I think we need another minute. Do you have any recommendations?" Shooting Aveena another smile Yang leaned forward a bit showing off the low cut of her top a bit better at a not so subtle attempt at flirting. Next to her she hears a snort only to look over to see Ruby rolling her eyes apparently having noticed Yang's attempt this time around. Whether Aveena failed to pick up on it or simply ignored it she responded without indication.

"Personally my favorite is the Futomaki Roll which is shrimp, crab, whitefish powder, omelet, cucumber, gourd and pickled radish. If there is a specific type of shrimp or crab you want in the roll we can do so if we have it. A popular order here is the Spicy Corn and Crab Chowder. One of our specials this week is the Bourbon-Glazed Salmon which I've been told is really good as well. Was there something in particular you two were feeling for tonight, I can do some better recommendations for that?"

"Well I was thinking sushi already and that Foko...mati Roll thing sounds really good so I may do that. Oh, and a Pizookie please." Ruby grinned ear to ear in excitement

"Alright, one Futomaki Roll and a Pizookie. What about you, miss?"

"Please, call me Yang. And I'll try that Bourbon-Glazed Salmon you mentioned, that sounds delicious!"

"Alright Yang, will that be it for you two? Did you want a Pizookie for yourself as well or were you two going to split the one?"

"You might as well order your own because that one is all mine."

"Awe, you don't feel like sharing, sis? You wound me so. Can you believe her, Aveena?" Yang attempts at shooting the bartender a wounded look only to find her raising an eyebrow in amusement.

"Haha well based on her reaction when you showed it to her on the menu I can't say I'm surprised. And sorry, I wasn't eavesdropping you're both energetic in volume."

"You're good, and I'll just stick with the salmon and my drink for now, thanks."

"Alright, I'll put the order in and retrieve your food when it's ready. Should a plate finish before the other should I bring it to you or wait until all the food is ready and bring it at one time?"

"Hmm all at once sounds good I think." quipped Ruby "Although it would probably be best to bring the Pizookie later as I'll end up eating that first and not eating my food and that would be a waste."

"As you wish. Yang would you like another Strawberry Sunrise?" nodding to the now empty glass

"Yes please, thanks!"

"Alright, I'll go put the order in and get you another drink." And with that Aveena sauntered off, taking a pair of roaming lilac eyes with her.

"You're incorrigible I hope you know that, Yang."

"No idea what you're talking about." she laughed

"Were you even trying to…?"

"Ladies and gentlemen we have a breaking news bulletin. Just moments ago we received word that the human colony Eden Prime has just been attacked. Right now it is unknown if there are any survivors as the damage to the colony appears to be absolute. As to who or what razed this peaceful colony it is unknown at this time. This is Diana Allers with Alliance News network, stay tuned for updates on this tragedy."

Eden Prime. A beautiful, idyllic world which sits just beyond the Charon mass relay. Eden Prime was the first human colony to be settled outside of the Sol system. Having a bio system unusually well-suited to host Earth-based life colonization was a rapid and successful process. Due to the environment much of the colonized surface is used for agriculture. Founded in 2152 present population estimates range at roughly 3.7 million inhabitants.

Aveena, having walked back over as the report ended noticed the somber sad looks on their faces. "Is everything alright?" Setting the drink down she looks up at the screen and sees the emergency news bulletin banner disappear. "What was that report?"

"Eden prime, one of our first colonies beyond our solar system was attacked. Nobody is sure who is responsible but there are said to be no known survivors. How is that even possible? That's in the heart of Alliance Space…." Noting Yang's growing sense of alarm Ruby puts a hand on her sister's shoulder "At least Uncle Qrow isn't there anymore, he finished his mission last week and is back on Earth now."

"He is? Well that's good." She takes a sip of her drink and tries to relax. Ruby always has been extremely close with their uncle. After all it was Uncle Qrow that taught Ruby a great deal of what she knows, which had allowed her to advance in her schooling by two years. It's Uncle Qrow whose fighting style Ruby mirrors to an extent. So it was no wonder that she knew his whereabouts as they talked constantly. That being said that doesn't mean that Yang and her uncle weren't close, they absolutely were but Yang just considered herself more independent.

"Well an entire colony going dark like that will definitely draw the attention of the council, especially one as supposedly well protected as that one. I'm sure they will offer help and work alongside the Alliance to figure out what is going on and repair the damage. Your species may be new to the galactic community but it's obvious that you all are quick hitters and I'd put money on you guys having a seat on the council or getting a SPECTRE soon."

Putting on a smile to reassure her sister Yang quips up "Yeah, I'm sure you're right." Smiling at Aveena as she glides back and forth behind the bar making drinks and delivering them with an alluring amount of grace.

"Hey Yang, question."

"What's up?"

"Has anyone ever gone and done multiple events of the tournament? Like a team of 4 doing 2 sets of 2 for the 2v2 and/or splitting up for the 1v1 sections? If they continued to win wouldn't that lower the number of people to possibly compete against in the finals if they won multiple sections?"

"Uumm….Honestly I've never heard of anyone doing that simply because you spend so much time preparing for the matches in one event that attempting to balance another events matches would be crazy. Especially when you factor in healing time as we both well know we get beat during matches. That being said I'm pretty sure it's against the rules anyway seeing as it would effectively grant you an almost instant win in the finals if everyone was on the same team, seeing as how it wouldn't matter who wins or loses the finalists would be sharing it regardless, like you and me for example."

With the scraping of plates and the deposit of another Strawberry Sunrise dinner has arrived. "Actually to the best of my knowledge it isn't against the rules. If someone is crazy enough to attempt to do multiple events and win them then they've pretty much won the tournament anyway. At that point they would've earned whatever the final prize was and be set for a while. Are you two thinking about doing another event?"

"I wasn't but Ruby just asked about the scenario."

"Ah, ok. Well if you're interested Ruby you and Yang should check out the help desk on the 2nd level in the arena's main lobby. They could tell you for sure. If you decide to I wish you both the best of luck as you'll definitely need it. Most contestants, even highly trained ones, can't handle a single event let alone multiple so you'll have your hands full." And with a whistle and the wag of a finger Aveena sees the extremely rude patron. And with the roll of her eyes "Excuse me."

"Are you seriously considering wanting to do another event, sis?"

"Not really I was just curious….but hypothetically no one ever does it, right? If we did and survived a couple of rounds we would be able to turn a few heads. Maybe the right head turns our way, we get a sponsorship, funds, equipment which would help us greatly. Along with it notoriety, even if we fell out before the finals being crazy enough to attempt it could help us out after the tournament is completed. Sometimes being the best isn't enough, especially with how competitive it is around here. We need to stand out." The more Ruby talked the more she hyped herself up, and by extension the more excited she got. One thing Yang hated to do was ruin her little sister's excitement. Sometimes there was just an innocence about it that tugged at her heart strings, to protect it.

"Alright alright, we'll go check it out after we're done here. I'm not promising anything because this is a serious decision. We would need to sit down and figure out if we are capable of doing such a thing."

"I know I know. But how cool would it be if we won more than one event?!" Generally the term 'bouncing' is a figure of speech when describing a person who's excited and sitting down, but not Ruby whom was literally bouncing up and down and coming up to eye level with her blonder half. Smirking Yang looked back to see Aveena coming back with what appeared to be a pizza tin in each hand….

"But first, let's dig in." A grin spreading its way across Yang's face

"What are you talking about, we just finis…." And with that a Pizookie was placed in front of them both and their empty food dishes were taken away. "I hope you ladies enjoy it. I only charged you for one, the other is on the house for a match well done today." With a wink Aveena stalked off once again leaving them to their plate of delicious gooey heaven.

….

 _ARMAX ARSENAL ARENA_. The sign glowed brightly in red, illuminating the area with an ominous yet suspenseful glow. Walking through the doorway led the duo to the main lobby. On the far left stood the double metal door to the infirmary with it stenciled in bright blue above it. Straight ahead were three paths. The leftmost one went to the east entrance of the arena, the center went to the north entrance, and the right went to the west entrance. To the right of that was a staircase to the 2nd level, which is where they wanted to go.

Heading up the staircase they pass the Armax store on their left and instead take a right. This leads them straight to the Information kiosk where a life sized Turian VI glows ready. "Welcome to the Armax Arsenal Arena Information hub. I am the Armax Arsenal Information VI. How can I help you today?"

"Hello." flashing a smile Ruby stepped forward "we had a question regarding the tournament rules."

"Of course, I would be happy to assist you. What questions did you have pertaining to the rules?"

"Well is it possible to participate in more than one event in the tournament? Like we are currently both participating in the 2v2 matches but could we pair up with someone and do 4v4 as well?"

"Presently there is no rule against participating in multiple events. Please be warned that failure of a match stipulates the end of your participation within the tournament. If you fail a match in one event you are disqualified from participating in other events as well from that point forward."

Turning to look at Ruby "so basically twice the effort for twice the chance of failure. Question is whether the payoff is worth the effort."

"Hmm…" turning back to the VI Ruby pips up "Has anyone ever participated in multiple events at the same time and won?"

"Presently there is no record of a participant or group of participants having been involved in more than one event and succeeded. There is however a short list of those who have tried. The present record is the successful completion of 3 consecutive matches in an event before failure. Presently to make it to the semi-finals you need 9."

"Well, that's inspiring." words spoken sour Ruby turns to Yang "Well there you go. Maybe it isn't such a good idea after all."

"Were you two interested in registering for another event? The only available event presently is the 4v4. I am capable of beginning the registration process from here."

"Unfortunately even if we wanted to we don't have anyone else who would be able to join us."

"That is quite alright. Presently we offer a teammate selection service. A fair percentage of 4v4 teams are chosen with this service. We take a large set of variables that you provide to match you with the best possible people. Please note that this takes some time, generally no longer than 24 hours. Once the selection is complete you will be notified via your Omni tools along with a basic dossier of all other teammates. The information in said dossier is all info you provide us during registration, we do not crawl the extranet for information as that is a invasion of digital privacy per council policy."

"Seems easy enough! And it isn't completely random, our teammates would be chosen to complement our strengths and weaknesses in the arena which would be good for us. C'mon, let's sign up."

"Now hold on Rubes. Question, if we were to register for the 4v4 event what are some things we should know going forward as a team participating in multiple events?"

"Based on previous combatant data it would be advised that you spend any free time maintaining any necessary gear, training, or sleeping. You will need your rest as you will be participating in twice as many matches. Other than that there isn't much else in terms of information that I can share with you."

"I mean we do that anyways so we are obviousl…"

"Based on present combatant data and current tournament combatant data you two have an estimated 11.256% chance of making it to the semifinals successfully."

"Oh…."

"Yeah, doesn't exactly inspire. What do you think Rubes?"

"I think we should do it anyway. It'll be a huge experience boost for us. Besides even if we don't make it to the semifinals all we have to do is beat the current record of 3 successful matches in each event. The better we do the higher the chance we get sponsored or make it to the finals, or both."

"If it helps with your decision there is currently a bounty in place by Kassa Fabrication. Any combatants that can compete in two or more events simultaneously and succeed in the finals will win a contract and a bounty amount of 500,000 credits."

 _Whistle_ "Wow that is a lot of money. Alright, why not. Let's do it. You in Ruby?"

"YEAH!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey everyone, sorry about the long wait on this one. The goal is to get a chapter out every week or so give or take a couple of days but this last week FFXV has consumed my life so that's completely my fault. That being said I've taken all the feedback I received from Ch 1 and kept it in mind when writing this chapter so hopefully the quality is much better. I hope you all enjoy! Oh, and don't fret about the lack of action this chapter, I saved it for next chapter so stay tuned!**

 **Note: In the chapter there is a URL. It is actually a legitimate URL, one that I made for the chapter. If you want to view it simply remove the tilde '~' symbol and copy paste in a new tab/window for your browser. The symbol is in the URL because Fanfiction formatting messes it up for some reason.**

...

Life. Death. Peace. Chaos. Like stars lives are born, crafted from the ethereal energy of the reality around it. Like stars they live, twisting and turning through time and space doing their best to perform their purpose in the cosmos. Like stars they die, sometimes explosive, loud, and bright; and other times quietly they fade into the darkness of the background around them. This is a constant of reality, that anything that has a beginning has an end, that anything born into the light must surrender itself to the darkness. Nothing can exist forever, nothing can live forever. So why does life continue to fight knowing its inevitable demise? Why fight when everything you ever hope to accomplish, ever will accomplish, will be for naught?

The darkness is all around. From the brush glowing red eyes can be seen, glowing red eyes that see...you. Exhaustion racks her body, breathes always short. Muscle ache from the journey is no longer felt as adrenaline and fear floods her body, her muscles, her organs, her mind. Fear not from facing the creatures in the dark but for failing, failing to protect the one you care about most, failing to protect yourself.

The eyes begin to circle, deep guttural growls begin to lace their way through the air as if the noise itself wanted you done and gone. If only she had thought it through, had planned ahead, had thought to realize they would be out here waiting, watching, hunting. If only she had thought ahead to bring a weapon, anything at all to defend herself and the small fragile form laying down behind her, the form of her baby sister.

Even if she had it wouldn't have mattered. Even if the adrenaline had given her the strength to move, to fight it wouldn't have mattered. Even if the fear wasn't waiting to get a hold of you should the exhaustion not, it wouldn't've mattered. Even if a weapon had been brought to defend oneself should the fear fail to get a hold it wouldn't have mattered. Simply because there were too many. They were too big. They were too strong. They were too much of everything for her to handle. The darkness was closing in and death was waiting for its next target, its next meal.

The eyes continue to circle, the growls start to rise in pitch. There's nowhere to go, the creatures of the night own your soul now. And then at some unperceived signal they move in unison. The eyes grow brighter, bigger. The growls grow louder, into a roar. They become all consuming, filling her vision with red death and her ears with the battlecry of the victorious they close in as time slows to a crawl, yet goes into overdrive. None of it matters anymore, including her failure as the darkness closes in all around….

* _Sharp inhale*_ Nothing but darkness surrounds her. Capable of hearing nothing but the whistle of blood as it floods its way past her ears. Heart slamming in her chest she begins to come to her senses. What was darkness she beings to make out a faint white light from under the door, and a sharp green light from the holo-clock on the nightstand. As the sweat cools and dries on her skin her breaths start to come under control instead of the desperate insatiable gasps that they were moments before.

Bright blonde hair flowed like wine all around her. Despite being disheveled from tossing and turning it still gleamed with vibrancy that showed it was meticulously cared for. Swaying and moving in time with her panting, now heavy breathing it swished around her right side as she looked to her left where another, smaller form lay. The younger red haired girl looked content with a smile on her face and her body splayed out over the blankets.

With a smile the blonde gets up and quietly walks to the bathroom the two share. Closing the door and flipping the light on Yang turned the water on ice cold and appraised herself in front of the mirror. _They never seem to quit haunting you, huh? You've learned from your mistakes, so why must they keep haunting me so?_ With a bitter smile she splashes some cold water on her face then rests her forearms on the sink, head hanging over the faucet. After a moment of water dripping into the sink and having gotten herself together she dries her face off with the towel hanging up, grabs a brush and for a few moments brushes her hair out to undamage what was whilst she was under the throes of nightmares.

Reappraising herself she sees a face full of determination. Eyes purple like lilacs, hair blonde like liquid fire. A sharp jawline, yet a softer nose compliment the face. Color had now returned to her face, irises no longer blood red from fear and hair in a neat ponytail she looked more herself, more in control. And with that observation she flips the light switch and exits the bathroom and heads back to bed.

What was a perfectly usable half of the queen sized bed now rested a starfished younger girl perfectly content with stealing the entire bed for herself. _Jeez sis thanks a bunch._ With a small chuckle she rolls her sister over and lays down in bed glancing at the holo-clock one last time. With a time of 03:12 luminatly glowing back at her she rolls over and prepares for sleep with a thought: _I'm glad your getting rest Rubes, we've got a big day ahead of us tomorrow. We get to meet our teammates and I know you're excited, but then again you get excited at pretty much everything. Not much keeps you down._ And with a soft chuckle Yang drifts away. Despite the softer, gentler feeling of the darkness this time around dreams won't be visiting her again tonight.

….

 **7 hours prior**

"And in other news almost 30 people were killed today in what appeared to be a failure in a transport shuttle's vertical launch systems. This caused the vehicle to plummet striking several others before slamming into Lake Carthage near the Zakera Ward. There were no survivors from the afflicted vehicle. A full investigation is underway by C-Sec presently and we have reached out to the lead investigating officer but have not yet received a response. Once we receive updates we will deliver them directly to you. This Lisa Lavender Citadel News Network signing off."

It is a bit hard to deliver information to an individual when they aren't paying attention, which was currently the case by the room's two inhabitants. Ruby currently lay in bed reading an E-scroll magazine titled _'Weapons Galore_ ' which was a 159 pages of various weapons, armor, Omni-tools, and the like. Dressed in white sweatpants with small multicolored hearts sprinkled all over, a black tank top with the picture of a black and white Pembroke Welsh Corgi on the front, and dark red fuzzy slippers Ruby was extremely comfortable. Yang on the other hand is presently taking what's called a Hollywood Shower, meaning Earth will experience another ice age before Ruby sees Yang appear from the wall of steam permeating from the slightly open bathroom door.

A bathroom which is 12 square feet with a soft navy blue painted walls. The sink possessed clear glass knobs and faucet on top of a gleaming silver aluminum sink. Hanging above was a smart mirror capable of displaying everything from an Extranet browser, a media player, real-time weather and traffic information for the citadel, and even basic telecommunications capabilities. The shower itself is similar to the sink as it is a silver aluminum with clear glass shower head and knobs.

The main room was a small 150 square foot room with a queen sized bed, large holo-screen television directly across from the bed on the opposite wall, and a black wooden nightstand on each side of the bed with a lamp and a holo-clock. A holo-clock is capable of displaying the same basic features as the smart mirror including time and date information, real-time traffic and weather data for a given area, media player, and basic telecommunications capabilities. The walls of the room are painted a mixture of red and blue, psychedelically the colors swirl, combine, and contrast across the room in a way that would leave inebriated minds entertained for easily a couple of hours.

The back wall opposite the door contained a window that overlooked the rest of the Silversun strip, as fluttering fabrics of individuals upon the strip flowed like water towards their respective destinations and neon lights gave the area what appeared to be an etheric glow from above.

What felt like an eternity to Ruby but was really all of 40 minutes Yang emerges through the wave of steam and fog that permeates from the now open bathroom door like a wraith. Hair and body wrapped in a dark navy blue towel she walked over to the black wooden dresser, one of two directly under the holo-screen, and began sifting through the various garments looking for some suitable sleepwear. Eventually a golden tank top with a lilac purple flame insignia and some dark brown sweat pants with the same insignia in gold on the right leg were chosen as sacrifice for the night.

As clothes were equipped Yang piped up "Hey Rubes, whatcha reading?" The only reply was a non-committal grunt, barely. Tapping the screen of the E-scroll followed by a finger swipe the holo-screen now mirrored in real-time what was presently displayed on the E-scroll. Page 94 which was what appeared to be an article on the theory of general relativity in relation to mass effected objects in a vacuum. After reading some of the article and getting bored Yang eventually got up and walked over to her nightstand to retrieve her Omni-tool. While she loved weaponry, fighting, and combat when it came to the math, science, and nitty gritty of it that was Ruby's passion: all things weaponry related and destruction and mayhem capable. Tapping her way through the holographic interface Yang checks her message inbox. Doing so flashes a bright number 6.

 _Oh joy._ She thought with a copious amount of sarcasm. _Let's see what I've got here…._

"Congrats! You_Have_Been_Approved_Fo…" *DELETE*

"Binary Helix Bi-Annual Newsletter #43" "Oh, cool. I'll check that in a second…"

"Doctors hate her! Learn how one mother lengthened…" *DELETE*

"Armax Arsenal Arena. 4v4 registration…" _Huh, what's this?_ *TAP*

" _Dear Yang Xiao Long,_

 _Please do not reply as this is an automated message. Your registration for the 4v4 event is successful and your teammate(s) have been selected. Please tap on the link below to view the relevant data. Please note the link will expire after 24 hours. Contact information regarding your new teammate(s) is within the addressed link below._

 _armaxarsenal.~wixsite.~com/basicbio  
_

 _2183 Armax Arsenal Inc. All Rights Reserved._ "

"RUBY! Hey Ruby! Guess what?"

"... … what?"

"Just got a message, our teammates have been selected. Look!"

….

"Thats nice Yang…" Ruby having absolutely not heard anything her older sister just said did not actually look at anything except her E-scroll. After a long moment of Yang just staring Ruby looks up back at her. "What?" Yang crosses her arms and shoots her that 'Really, I have to repeat myself' look, with the additional raised eyebrow. "What, Yang? Why are you staring at mWAITDIDYOUSAYWEHAVEOURTEAMMATES?!" And in that moment Ruby is across the room before Yang could possibly blink let alone protect herself from the lightning-quick tackle that she inevitably received.

"Ahaha whatareyoudoinggetoffofmeeii!" In the process of reaching for her older sister's omni tool to see the message she was pressing on her sister's stomach causing her to fall into a squeal of laughter. By shifting her hips she managed to knock Ruby off balance and roll her off of her. Jumping to her feet she worked to straighten herself out. Face flushed from laughing, hair rustled from being tackled she got her breath under control enough to respond "You have your own omni-tool and we both got the message. Check yours out instead of trying to kill me for mine."

Without bothering to reply Ruby bolts around the bed to her nightstand, grabs the omni-tool off the induction charger, and throws it onto her wrist. From there she navigates the various menus with an ease that speaks of a higher level of understanding than the average user. In an attempt to still herself enough to read the text on screen, which couldn't be done due to her bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet in raw excitement she sits down cross legged on her side of the bed and glances through the half page of info regarding her new teammates. With disappointment in her voice she states "There isn't much here on Weiss, not enough to really get an idea of who she is. There's even less on Blake...and neither of them even filled out the brief summary text box about themselves."

Now that her younger sister and herself were on the same page and paying attention Yang now had the chance to give the summary page a proper read through. _She's right, there's very little here about them which is interesting._ Pondering for a moment she speaks up. "You know the fact they told us very little is actually saying a lot. For example Blake has nothing regarding her previous jobs, education, or even combat and survival experience. Maybe she has very little of all of that or is self taught and unconfident in her abilities. Maybe she's out here to prove something to herself or even someone else. OR maybe she's got a rap sheet? Maybe she's worked for less than braggable employer(s) and doesn't want to talk about it?"

Ruby sat there thinking for a moment. "I don't know, look at her preferred weapon of choice. A portable Omni-blade and a Harpy X pistol. Both of those are pretty high level weapons. The Harpy X is an extremely versatile weapon, very accurate, very powerful. They are not cheap by any stretch of the means. We are talking tens of thousands of credits for just the base weapon which isn't including any enhancements, modifications, attachments, etc etc.

Then there's the portable Omni-blade which is a whole different kind of beast, one which I could sit here for hours talking about. If she really is a novice then how did she get those weapons? NO novice wields that kind of tech. It's expensive, dangerous, and designed for the best. If I recall correctly the portable Omni-blade is used in...N4 combat training I believe. Not just anybody makes it to N4."

"Hhmm… Ok." Yang ponders for a moment. "So then what's your opinion on Weiss?"

"Weelll…" Ruby trailed off as she scanned the short bio sent to her Omni-tool. "To start she's capable of Biotics which is neat but it doesn't tell us a whole lot. In terms of combat it simply states she studied under a Sir William Marshal….why is that name familiar? Huh, it'll come to me. Anyway she simply states a name which means it's either a program or a person. Hard to say how much that actually stacks for, but she claims she's 'exceptional' in combat which doubled with the scar across her left eye means she's either extremely foolish and yet self-centered or might have some skill like she claims. Either way just like with Blake it'll be easier to gauge them once we meet and can see how they dance around a training mat. Then there is her weapon of choice: A modified...Polaris X Omni-tool? Wha-?!" Jaw going slack she leaned forward closer to the omni-tool and rereads it again just to be sure.

"Uuhh… is that a good 'wha' or a bad 'wha'?"

"I don't know, maybe a shocked 'wha'. As far as I know those Omni-tools aren't even on the market yet! We are talking absolute state of the art flagship Omni-tool by Polaris. And she claims to not just have one but a modified one. I wonder if that's an engineering test mod or a real consumer version. Totally not fair either way…" trailing off and mumbling jealous words under her breath she momentarily forgot she was speaking aloud to her older sister.

"Hey, Rubes c'mon back. You good?"

"Huh, oh yeah. Just immensely jealous is all. If she really possesses one she either has connections, serious money, or really is quite exceptional on the battlefield."

"You know what's funny? The name Schnee sounds familiar as well. Hold on…" PING! "Hm?" In the process of looking up the name 'Schnee' on the extranet both Yang and Ruby receive messages on their Omni-tools.

 _Weiss Schnee: Hello team. It seems we have been paired together for the 4v4 event. I hope you all are capable of keeping up as you'll need to if we are to win this tournament. I can't have you slacking or falling behind. The 4v4 event starts here soon so we need to assess each others' abilities ASAP. Meet me at the Apex Lounge across from the arena's main entrance tomorrow at 10:00 sharp._

"Well, isn't she just…. Charming." Yang observed with little more than a raised eyebrow. Whilst in the process of typing up a response another ping is observed.

 _Blake Belladonna: Ok._

Ruby merely frowned slightly, Yang smirked "And a woman of many words. This shall be interesting, eh Rubes?"

 _Yang Xiao Long: Hey! Ruby and I shall meet you both there. Yang out._

"Yang out?" Ruby snickered "What are you, a secret agent or something?"

"Wouldn't that be fun?" She laughed "Anyway we should get some rest, have a big day tomorrow! I'm excited to meet them."

"Oh, I have no doubt you are. They are very pretty, if there pictures could be believed."

"Haha, let's hope so."

….

 _Click_ _Click_ _Click_ _Click_ as the woman's heels make contact with the black obsidian tiled floor. Pacing back and forth across the room the woman began to become impatient, despite the fact she was fashionably early and there was still several minutes before the agreed upon meet-up time.

What she wore was far more elegant than when she regarded her current teammates' match yesterday morning. Currently she graced those in proximity with a pair of black heeled mid calf boots, a mid thigh length black skirt with a silver square-chained link belt, a white colored shirt with a loose blue bow tie, light blue knee length open coat, and a pair of black gloves to wrap up the ensemble. Upwards from there a pair of silver sword-drop shape earrings side on a head whose silvery-white hair is in a ponytail bun with her remaining hair hanging down to her shoulder blades. With bangs framing a face which battled with impatience Weiss continued to pace.

Not even a minute later Ruby and Yang walk in through the front door. "Huh, why have we never come here before, Yang? This looks like a fun place to chill."

"Ahaha you? Chill? That is quite funny." Walking up to the bar Yang orders the same drink as she had at the sushi restaurant the night before. "One Strawberry Sunrise no ice with a little umbrella please. Anyway Rubes, the day you manage to 'chill' is the day I take you to the med bay because then I'll know something is wrong with you as you'd have to be sick. You can't sit still to eat a cookie let alone do anything else." Ruby's only response was to grin and stick her tongue out at the older sibling.

Scanning the room Yang and Ruby both sit at the bar and take in the room and it's occupants. The room itself was fair in size. With black obsidian tiled floors and walls this gave the room a muted expression. The edges of the floor that ran along all of the walls were separated by a bright blue light which were focused on the walls. This filled the room with a medium blue glow, without being blinding. On the ceiling were strips of white bar shaped lights at random intervals, lengths, and degrees of rotation. All around the room were various configurations of black and blue couches, chairs, and various other furnishings that one could use to kick back and relax.

The bar behind the pair held a fair assortment of liquor, all of which sat on clear acrylic shelves lit by out of sight white lights. On the underside of the top of these shelves as well as under the bar itself were the same blue lights as what framed the edges of the room.

After a moment of silence Yang speaks up. "Hey, I think I see Weiss. That looks like her anyway, over there in the black lounge chair." Nudging Ruby she subtly points over to the right side of the room where she sat apparently having won her battle for patience with a drink in her hand and legs crossed. "C'mon, let's go over there." And with that Yang hopped down with Ruby close behind and they made their way over.

"Excuse me, you're Weiss right?" Flashing an endearing smile Yang holds her hand out. "I'm Yang and this is my younger sister Ruby. We were paired with you for the tournament." Having noticed them a moment after departing the bar Weiss had been appraising them on their way across the room. With a smirk she stands up and takes Yang's hand. "That's correct, I'm Weiss." They were an interesting pair. Having had the chance to observe them during their recent match and now having met them outside the arena she concluded she could very well do much much worse. _They are quite grounded. They don't carry that self-centeredness that other fighters carry. That and because they are family makes it a fairly obvious motivation for them to succeed. That being thought we have a lot of work to do._

"So I guess Blake hasn't arrived yet?" Ruby queried toward Weiss.

"Obviously not, if she was we would've been conversing when you arrived already."

"Actually Weiss speaking of the devil I think that's her over there." Nodding in the direction of the door was a young woman with jet black waist length hair heading in their direction. Gliding across the room with an almost feline like grace she sported a mid thigh length black dress with a black belt and an open triple button white coat. Donned on her legs were knee length black boots and thigh high black leggings. To top off the outfit was a purple scarf and a black bow atop her head.

A moment after speaking to Weiss Yang gets up and walks to meet the new comer. Taking a moment as the distance closed both of them did a quick scan of the other, making assumptions and the like. "Blake, right? I'm Yang. I'm one of your new teammates!" Flashing a bright grin Yang holds her hand out, same as she did to Weiss.

 _She's polite, outgoing, and confident. I wonder if that stays true under the surface as well._ The thought flittering across Blake's mind as she responded "Yeah." Shaking Yang's hand she asked "Start without me?"

"Nope. My sister and I only just got here moments ago ourselves." Leading Blake over to the others she looks back at her. "Would you like a drink? Weiss and I already have one and I'm not sure how long we're going to be here." Yang shrugs to emphasize her point.

"Sure." With a small smile Blake detours to the bar. Sitting down next to Ruby on the sofa Yang picks her drink back up and takes a sip. "So yeah, that's Blake. She went to get herself a drink."

"Speaking of drinks are you not going to have one Ruby? You're 18, right?" Weiss asked

"Yeah, I could have a drink but I prefer not to. I don't really care for alcohol to be honest." She shrugs "Although I'm curious, what are you drinking? It smells good."

"It's called a vanilla grasshopper. It's something my butl-"*cough*"friend would make for me sometimes." Yang tilted her head slightly in question, having picked up that she was covering something but decided not to press. It's a bit early in the evening to start down the path of life stories.

"Mmh, mint and vanilla right?" Yang asked

With a nod Weiss replies "Yeah, there's also a touch of chocolate liquor as well."

Before either sister could reply Blake returned from the bar with a drink in hand. Glass full of an amber colored liquid with a few ice cubes floating on the top she takes a sip and sits across from the group in a single seat recliner.

"What did you get to drink, Blake?" Ruby inquired

"Oh, it's nothing special. Just a Whiskey Sour with Crown Royal Whiskey."

"I've never had Whiskey before. What's it taste like?"

"Um…" Blake takes another sip, focusing on the amber liquid as it flows along her tongue." It's a touch sour, like lemon or citrus. It's a touch sweet, like candy. But it's mainly… this dark oakish liquor. Not bitter, not fiery, but it is. I'm not really sure how to describe it to be honest."

"If you want Rubes I'll go up and get you one if you want to try it." Her sister offered "On the off chance Ruby doesn't like it would you object to a free drink, Blake?"

"I had only planned on having one tonight but if Ruby doesn't like it I wouldn't want it to go to waste."

"Well, I guess I'll try one then."

'Haha alright, I'll be right back sis." With that Yang gets up and strides her way to the bar to retrieve the drink.

Looking up from her drink Weiss found Ruby having been looking at her with a curious expression on her face, head tilted sideways slightly like a confused puppy. "What?"

"I was just curious why you decided to participate in the tournament. I don't know why but I can just imagine you running a super crazy sized business instead."

"NOT that it's any of your business" Weiss bristled "but for your information my father does run one, which is why I am participating in the tournament. I'd rather do a great many things like put my life on the line instead of take over the business."

"Ah, well that explains that." Yang having just returned and is once again sitting down next to her sister on the blue velvet couch.

"Explains what exactly?" Weiss asked in a guarded tone.

"Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Eezo company and fortune. You're older sister was originally supposed to take the reins but refused to bow to your father and went into the military instead. Naval Alliance, right?"

"Yes, that's correct on all fronts. My father, Jacques Schnee, runs and owns the Schnee Eezo Company. He wanted my sister, Winter, to take over the family business but instead she wound up a successful soldier. So I was next in line, but instead I refused as well and am now here. My father still expects me to take over but I'd rather not."

 _Well, so much for not getting into life stories just yet_. Yang thought with amusement. At that moment Ruby decides to try the drink handed to her. With a slightly less than lady like slurp Ruby takes a drink. With 3 other pairs of eyes watching her, lilac, amber, and blue waiting for her reaction. Unsure Ruby takes another sip...and then another.

"The fact she has taken multiple sips makes it safe to assume she doesn't hate it." Yang laughs.

"I mean you're right. It's not bad." *Takes another sip* "I don't care for the burn but it tastes kinda good actually."

"Ahaha atta girl Rubes!" Wrapping an arm around her sister Yang chuckles as Ruby knocks the rest of the drink back in a solid two gulps. "That being said generally you're supposed to sip it not chug it. I mean you can but we aren't exactly partying yet."

"I know but how much will one drink affect me?"

"I would choose your words wisely Ruby." Blake speaks up with amusement in her eyes "alcohol is not something to underestimate, especially if you don't know your limits."

"I know, I mean I don't know mine very well but I certainly know Yang's." flashing her older sister a cheeky grin "I've had to take care of her many times after a long night back at Signal Academy."

"As you should my dearest sister, that's what family is for. And when the day comes I'll be here to take care of you."

"I hope so, Yang." She said with a smile

"Can I ask you two a question?" Blake quips

"Of course!" both sisters say in unison causing them both to start giggling.

"You guys call each other siblings, but you don't look much alike and you have different last names…" Trailing off she wasn't quite sure how to word it without possibly offending them.

"You're asking if we're actually related or if we just call each other family?" Yang clarifies "We are related through our dad, but have different moms." She shrugs

"Ah, ok."

"Yeah."

Taking a sip of her drink Weiss speaks up. "What about you Blake, any siblings?"

Shaking her head Blake replies. "No, I'm an only child."

"Well that kinda sucks." Yang murmured under her breath.

"And why's that, Yang?" Blake replied

Appearing slightly startled by the reply Yang fumbled for an answer. Blake wasn't supposed to hear her, it was more to herself than anyone. "Well, uh, just because having a sibling makes a lot of things easier in life. Someone you and always rely on. Like a best friend but cooler. That and it makes events like sparring much more fun."

"Mmh." Was the only response, though amber colored eyes continued to gauge her over the rim of her amber colored drink.

"Speaking of sparring, do you guys spar each other frequently?" Weiss speaks up.

"Pretty much all the time! Not only is it fun but it's a solid workout! That and it's a dangerous galaxy out there, knowing how to take care of yourself or someone you love is important!" Ruby bumbles excitedly "That and if we don't Yang starts to get grouchy which isn't pretty, believe me." she laughs

Playfully hitting her younger sister in the shoulder Yang looks at Blake and Weiss. "Speaking of sparring we don't have any matches tomorrow. Why don't we hit the gym and spend a few hours dancing? It'll be good to get a feel for how we all fight, our strengths and weaknesses and whatnot."

"Sure, sounds like a plan to me." Blake replies, setting her now empty glass on the table.

"Why do it tomorrow? You guys don't have any matches this afternoon, right? Lets meet up after lunch in a few hours and start then? With the matches so soon we'll need all the time we can get working alongside each other." Weiss argues

For a moment excitement flickered across Ruby's face, only to be rapidly yet briefly replaced with disappointment. She had planned on going to the workshop and doing some therapeutic maintenance on her weapons and armor. That tends to be the favorite part of her day, just sitting down and working with her hands on her pride and joy.

"What do you think Rubes, want to go spar this afternoon instead? You can always hit the workshop afterwards with plenty of time before they close."

Contemplation clear on her face, "Well...the workshop closes at 10. I'd need to be there no later than 6. When exactly did you want to meet up for sparring?"

"How does 2 sound? It's only…" flipping out her omni-tool Weiss checks the time "10:24. Gives me a few hours to kick your butts with plenty of time for you to do what you need to."

"Haha kick OUR butts? Dream on princess." Yang laughs "Private tutors have nothing on real world experience."

"Don't call me princess!" Weiss snaps "And fine, let's put it to the test. Blake and I against you and Ruby."

"You ok with that, Blake?" Yang turns and asks the amber-eyed woman

With naught but a shrug she replies "That's fine, I don't really have a preference either way, but is the timing ok with Ruby?"

With a nod Ruby speaks up "Yeah, that should be fine. If it's not I'll just get up early tomorrow morning to finish anything I couldn't get done. Hopefully Sazh will let me stay later or come in earlier than opening if necessary."

"Sazh?" Yang, Blake, and Weiss ask simultaneously. A laugh from Yang is accompanied by a smirk from Blake and a raised eyebrow from Weiss.

"The workshop owner."

"Ah, gotcha."

"So then it's settled. I'll see you three at the gym this afternoon." With that dismissal Weiss stands and makes her way out of the lounge leaving Ruby, Yang, and Blake.

"Well isn't she a character?" Yang jokes to Blake whom only replies with a shrug and a slight smile. With that Blake makes her leave as well leaving the sisters by themselves on their respective couch.

"I like them." Ruby pips "Still not 100% sure how they are going to handle themselves on the mat though."

"Well I guess we'll just have to wait and see, huh? Anyway we should make like a tree and leaf, eh?" Ruby's only response was a grin and a roll of her eyes. With that the two sisters went home to prepare for their sparring matches later that afternoon.

...

 **PS. I want to give a bit of credit to the creators of the images I used in Yang's Armax Arena message. To view both these URLs and the one in the chapter just remove the tilde symbols from the URL. Something about the formatting for the site messes up the formatting for the string of text. The sources for the two images in Yang's message are:**

gintieuyeu.~tumbler.~com/post/151376033944/tried-to-paint-princess-luna-look-like-weiss-xd

kazeplay.~deviantart.~com/art/Blake-RWBY-2-485490607


	3. Chapter 3

Walking into training room 2C Ruby and Yang quickly scan the room for their teammates. Walking out of the connecting locker room door at the same time Weiss crossed over to them. "Hey Weiss!" Ruby beamed a grin at the snow-color haired woman.

"Hello Ruby. Yang. Glad you could show up. Where's Blake?" Weiss inquired

"Dunno. I figured she'd get here before us. Yang replied

"I was." Came a reply from beside them. All three girls yelped and skipped a pace back, away from the raven-haired woman standing next to them.

"What the hell?" "When did you…?" Yang and Ruby attempted to ask simultaneously while Weiss glared in annoyance at being snuck up upon.

With a barely imperceptible smirk on her face Blake responded to their obvious surprise "What are you talking about, I was right behind you and walked in with you."

"No way. We walked in by ourselves." Ruby retorted "If you were behind us how did we not see or hear you?" Without a spoken reply Blake just shrugged.

"Wait, if you were already here how did you come in behind Ruby and Yang?" Weiss questioned

"I stepped out into the lobby to get a bottle of water." Holding up said item in her hand.

"Oh." was the only committed reply.

Changing the subject Blake spoke up "So how are we going to do this? You guys want to split into two teams of two or one on three?"

"Two on two sounds like a good plan. It's easy to switch up that way and keeps it fair." Yang says. "Let's put our stuff up first and we can figure out the details then." Throwing her arm around her sister's neck they stride off to the locker room to stow their stuff and change.

Turning to face Blake Weiss speaks up "Have you been to the weapon exchange kiosk yet?"

"Weapon exchange kiosk? What am I exchanging and why?"

"Have you never sparred in a gym like this before?" Weiss asks incredulously

Shaking her head "No, when sparring I've always just used my normal weapons."

"Well that's just great." With a sigh Weiss begins walking out to the main lobby. Looking over her shoulder she realizes Blake isn't behind her. "You coming? You're going to be one of today's lucky 10,000." With that she continues onwards with Blake jogging to catch up, with nary a sound to be heard.

Out in the lobby people of all races and species were running, crawling, and just generally rushing around however it is they do. Advertisements for various weapons, armor, and the like played from large holoboards high up on the ceiling. Above the cacophony of noise from the lobby cheers and shouts could be heard from the central arena where a match was currently in progress. Marching up to the weapon swap kiosk Weiss spun around to face Blake. "So this is how training in these kinds of gyms work. Within the gym you aren't allowed to use actual weaponry, mainly for liability reasons and also they don't want to have to be continuously repairing the rooms every time someone trains. Instead when you get here you turn over your standard weapons and you receive these replicas. Let me see your handgun."

With that Blake pulls her Harpy X out of its holster and hands it over. Turning around back to the Kiosk attendant Weiss hands it over. "Is this the only weapon ma'am?" The human behind the counter spoke to Blake. "No sir, I also have an omni-blade but it's been personally modified." Nodding in understanding the gentleman takes the handgun and turns towards the back room. A few moments later he walks back out with an almost identical version of the weapon, save for the different color scheme. "Please swipe your omni-tool across the pad in front of you. This is for security and logging reasons. This way your weapon will be secured in our lock boxes in the vault and only you can retrieve it."

"So Weiss, what's the point if we can't actually fire rounds?" Turning around they made their way back to their reserved room she replied "These weapons like I said are replicas. What makes them perfect for training is that the rooms as well as the weapons have these sensors. They are extremely accurate so when sparring they know exactly where an actual round from your weapon would hit, with how much force, and how much damage it would do. When we go back in there are a small box of sensors. We each wear a couple so when we get hit it administers a small electrical shock, nothing painful but it lets you know you've been hit. Part of training relies on the honor system but the system does keep track and if you've taken enough hits to without a doubt be dead the data board on the far wall will say so."

"What about if we use omni-blades and biotics or other weapons besides guns?"

"That's easy!" The duo having walked back in Ruby and Yang were waiting. Ruby having heard the question decided to reply in excitement before Weiss could formulate a response. "The systems throughout the room and on your body will recognize biotics and register as such, and as far as omni-blades go there the kiosk outside in the lobby also does trades for those as well. The ones you receive are actual physical pieces of metal not mass effect field based so they won't cut through you like melted butter. BUT those versions WILL shock you if they connect, and if a sensor is near the contact site it will also go off and all damage is recorded on the data screen there." Blake turned her head to the holoscreen where Ruby was pointing. "Basically it's the closest thing to live fire without having to be. This way we can smack each other around without total evisceration!"

"That's actually pretty cool. But I'm used to fighting with this-" Blake then unfurls her omni-blade. With a solid sturdy black aluminum hilt the blade itself projects itself outward from the top before unfolding twice more. It then solidifies itself into one longer katana type blade roughly two feet in length. Glowing bright orange the weapon sits in the palm of her hand for the other three to admire. "I hadn't planned on sparring with it but do you think they would have something roughly this size and weight at the kiosk to spar with?"

With a shrug Yang replies "Possibly, I'd be surprised if they didn't. Sometimes people tend to be a bit old fashioned and use standard metal weapons, but those are usually smaller things like knives for example. You'd have to just go check."

Having recovered from the awe at the beauty of the weapon Ruby steps in "Can I see it? I promise to be gentle." With Blake's weapon now in hand Ruby gives it a thorough look over. "Hmm… appears to be a Sirta foundation design." The soft buzz of the weapon unfurling again can be heard as she continues to study it. "Stage 3 mass effect modulator, double positive bianisotropic coupling, all in about 2 feet and...410 grams? Coupled with-" Yang puts her hand on her younger sibling's shoulder to halt her excited rambling. "While I'm sure she's pleased that you're ecstatic we planned on sparring not drooling, remember? Since you seem to know the size and weight why don't you go help her get a sparring equivalent while Weiss and I get things set up here."

With a nod Ruby re sheathed the weapon and hands it back before skipping out of the room with Blake right behind her. With nothing more than a flicker of amusement on her face Weiss walks over to the sensor box and tosses a small canister of them to Yang before popping her own and applying them. With the two of them linked to the system they begin pulling their weapons from their bags and start warming up. By this time they had returned with what hopefully appeared to be a worthy substitute for Blake's weapon of choice. Weiss once more tossing them each a cannister she speaks up to the group. "Alright everyone, so since we are doing this in teams of two this means we only need at least three matches for everyone to spar alongside and against everyone else. We'll do 10 minute matches to start off."

"As you wish m'lady." With a giggle Yang dramatically bows to her bossy teammate. Ignoring the jab Weiss continues "Yang, you and Blake will be on a team, Ruby you'll be with me." Beaming a bright grin she dashes to Weiss's side. Yang simultaneously with one hand on her hip puts her left arm on Blake's shoulder. Wiggling her eyebrows and with a smile on her face "So, come here often?" Fighting to keep the grin off her face at her teammate's stupidity Blake shrugs her shoulder and sidesteps causing Yang to stumble. "No." Was the only reply.

"Whenever you two are ready we can begin." Weiss calls from the other side. "Computer, begin training session 01." With that command the holographic arena obstacles materialized. With the room being a fraction of the size of the main arena there were less obstacles in the room compared to the main arena. What materialized were four thin boxes orientated vertically that floated a foot off the ground. From there they all rotated around a central point sweeping across almost the entire floor.

"All combatants stand ready.

5…

4…

3…

2…

1…

Begin!" spoke the computerized voice. Before the word 'begin' could be fully spoken Ruby was halfway across the gap separating the opposing duo. Power sliding under the imposing barrier Ruby belts off several shots from her mock handgun at Blake, and scoring a few direct hits to the knees. Despite the hits only one registered due to the simulated armor that each 'wore' as part of the scoring system. Knowing that her younger sister would come in hard and quick Yang was prepared as her replica shotgun discharged point blank range at her sister's chest.

What should've counted as three direct hits was instead replaced with an orange glow and the sound of shattering glass as the tactical armor that Weiss had cast over Ruby mere milliseconds before absorbed the rounds. Ignoring her sister completely Ruby jumped from the end of her power slide and went straight for a spinning side kick straight into Blake's chest. Instead of connecting Blake parried the kick with her arm which sent Ruby past her onto her back with an _Oomph_ as the wind was knocked out of her.

Attempting to take advantage Weiss used the distraction to bolt up on top of the spinning barricades and unleash a quick burst from her replica Paladin handgun. At least that had been the plan, but instead Yang spotted the blur of white out of the corner of her eye and biotically yanked Weiss's foot out from under her the moment it connected with the top of the barricade. This had the outcome of having one teammate recovering from a fall and the other gracelessly meeting the ground.

Bolting to where Ruby was laying Blake somersaulted while bringing her leg down in an axe kick as an attempt to connect with Ruby's chest. Knowing Ruby would roll out of the way Blake rolled off the ball of her foot and spun into a spinning round kick which made complete contact with the side of Ruby's head as she was getting back up, sending her sprawling once again. Drawing her blade she places the tip at Ruby's throat with nothing more than a raised eyebrow. Ruby's reply to the wordless question was to kick up at Blake's hand. Knowing full well that Ruby would not give up so easy Blake had anticipated a move of something similar and reeled back slightly only to follow up by stepping forward with a slash. Instead Ruby had used the fraction of a second to use her other leg and arms to push off the ground and spin sideways. This put her fractions of an inch away from the swinging blade to bounce off the ball of her foot and corkscrew flip away from Blake whilst landing facing her.

Not leaving any time for her to recover Blake blitzed in blade swinging in a sideways slash only to be blocked as Ruby had unsheathed a fair sized combat knife. Blake had the reach advantage so Ruby had to negate that and did so simply by faking the knife to the left then ducking into the right. Getting up under her guard Ruby managed to bring the knife under and knick Blake on her right hip. Despite the fact that the training weapons were intentionally dull with enough force it can still piece skin. Coupled with the electrical shock from the contact Blake became distracted enough for Ruby to hook her leg around Blake's and shove her with her shoulder causing her to tumble. Mid fall Ruby slammed the hilt of the knife into Blake's hand causing her to drop the weapon where Ruby subsequently caught it. Holding the blade to Blake's throat as she had done to Ruby moments before she raised her eyebrow in the same wordless question.

While Ruby and Blake were duking it out Yang decided to follow through with toppling Weiss and raced forward toward the barricade expecting to see the young woman as it passed above her. Instead no body appeared for Weiss had biotically lifted herself a moment before hitting the ground and held herself against the backside of the barricade. Taking a moment to check stock before bolting to the left and forward at Yang as she attempted to lock her in stasis.

'Attempt' is strongly used here as really it had barely been a flicker of a thought before the blonde bombshell slammed into Weiss knocking her up off of her feet and towards the edge of the training mat. Unlike Yang whom had ground to a halt Weiss had a bit more grace and recovered midair and landed back on her feet. Having unholstered her weapon before hitting the ground Weiss unleashed a small barrage of gunfire at Yang as she skipped away from the edge of the mat. The barrier that Yang had erected at the start of the match had absorbed all but one round which shocked her on her left shoulder.

Dispensing a thermal clip from the replica weapon Weiss brought the firearm up and fired another salvo at Yang. Having thrown up another barrier Yang dove to the side and in front of a passing barricade from which the rounds slammed into. Pulling out her replica assault rifle Yang peeked up and over the barricade and rested her arms on the top so as to steady her while it moved and fired center mass at Weiss. Seeing as the assault rifle has significantly more stopping power compared to the handgun, especially at point blank range, neither the tech armor nor the barrier that Weiss had erected stopped the flurry of rounds as they slammed into her and marked her as terminated. Weiss was now down for the count.

Stomping her foot Weiss snarled "FUCK!" and stalked off the mat. Turning back to her partner and sister Yang witnessed Ruby with Blake's weapon at her own throat.

Blake's only reply to Ruby's question was to kick off the ground and slide backwards away from the edge of the blade and draw her Harpy X from her side holster and fire a couple of rounds at her causing her to spin out of the way. With a little distance recovered Blake flipped to her feet in time to have her own blade slice across the back of her left hand as she brought the weapon up to bare. Then all she could see was the gleaming silver along its length as instinct took over and moved her left hand to protect her face from the now ownerless weapon only to be knife handed in her right wrist and relieved of her handgun.

Managing to catch the blade the weapons had once again switched users, not that it mattered because before the weapon could be brought into position two sharp electrical shocks erupted across Blake's forehead as Ruby put her down with a double tap. Terminated is now what the status board read under Blake's name.

For then there were two. Sisters in life, and now rivals in combat. With surprise and shock Blake walked off the mat to join her other teammate. Without giving Ruby time to celebrate Yang charged towards her, biotically pushing herself towards her target. Coming in hot she was nothing but a blur as Ruby's chest ate one of Yang's knees and she went flying. Flipping head over heels Ruby managed to recover enough to land facing her teammate. Seeing a foot speeding towards her face Ruby flips to the right and lands back on her feet in time for the fist to connect with her cheek.

Receiving a flurry of blows Yang began systematically knocking her back to the edge of the mat, with her strikes meeting a mixture of landing, being parried, or being dodged all together. Being unable to meet the blows head on Ruby ducks under one of Yang's crosses and kicks her back, enough to skip away from the edge and vault over one of the barricades. Distance and time were the desire, enough to reorient herself. Drawing her own handgun Ruby falls to the ground under the barricade as it passes overhead and begins shooting at Yang's feet. Taking down her barrier Ruby immediately jumps up to send a final couple shots home, only to learn the hard way that her older sister had crossed the remaining two dozen feet towards her and ended the match. At the three and a half feet between them there was no time or distance to dodge the shotgun shell that fired and hit her center mass. Terminated was now her status.

Training session 01 was now completed with Ruby and Weiss eliminated and Blake and Yang victorious.

Getting back up and brushing herself off Ruby begins laughing uproariously. "That was awesome! Going to be honest you scared the crap out of me. I totally wasn't expecting you to have gotten that close. I even got some airtime from that!" Meeting her sister's high five Yang throws her arm around her younger half as they laughed and chatted their way off the mat. Joining back with Blake and Weiss the sisters grabbed some water and rehydrated. "Gotta say princess, I like your style." Yang says "You're quite agile, but you play too cautiously. You should've rushed in after your first clip when my barrier was down, or ran for shelter in that split second as I was vulnerable and needed a moment to recollect myself."

"First off, DON'T call me that. Second, I know that now. I realized it afterwards." Sitting on the bench, legs crossed and back impossibly straight Weiss met Yang's amused gaze. "That being said you hit like shuttle, and I don't know if that's a good thing." Laughing Ruby speaks up "Yeah, she does that." Massaging her cheek where Yang decked her "What she lacks in sensibility she makes up for in personality."

"Hey now! I'm right here!" This set off another round of giggling between them with Blake grinning and Weiss trying not to, and failing.

"You know, you're really quick Ruby. More than once I underestimated you and I payed for it. But just to let you know I was holding back. Don't expect that kindness again." Blake grins.

"Thanks!" Ruby beams, with a grin bright enough to blind lesser folk. "Although it didn't seem like you were holding back, maybe I'm just that much better than you." Said statement was then followed up by a taunting point of her tongue.

Taking charge she steps forward "Anyway, you guys ready for another round? Since Weiss and I just fought together, why don't we switch it up? Yang should be on my team next and you two on a team."

"Well now, doesn't that seem dangerous? You two have been fighting together for a while, you know each other's strengths and weaknesses. Weiss and I don't." Blake replies

"And that's exactly why we are here. To get a feel for each other and their fighting styles, so that way we can be a more efficient team! How are you going to learn about us, and vice versa, if you haven't fought us?"

Setting her bottle down and getting up from the bench Weiss cuts in "Ruby has a point, we should fight them. This would also give us a chance to fight together, Blake. And I can beat Yang down in retaliation for the previous match."

"Ha, I'd love for you to try!" Slamming her fists together Yang grins with an evil glint in her eye.

"Alright." Blake says with a shrug

"YEAH!" Both sisters reply in eagerness as they turn away and jog towards one side of the mat.

"Hey, Weiss." Blake speaks softly "Think you can cover us both with a barrier and that tech armor of yours right when it starts?"

"Maybe, depends on what the obstacles are. They are both really quick, if the obstacles are annoying enough it might slow them down enough to give me time to do it."

"Fingers crossed then, we'll need all the help we can get."

"Yeah."

Making their way over to the other side of the mat Weiss calls out. "Computer, begin training session 02." With that the obstacles materialized. In the center of the mat on either side materialized to large columns about fifteen feet in height. In between them were two large flat platforms that hung about six inches off the ground. From there they rotated horizontally, as if a tether ran between the columns and through the platforms. One in one direction, one in the other.

"All combatants stand ready.

5…

4…

3…

2…

1…

Begin!" spoke the computerized voice. Right as the command was given Weiss threw up a barrier around the two of them. Unfortunately for her the sisters both ran in from the right, in between the platform and the column, failing to give Weiss enough time to cast the tech armor from her omni-tool. Ruby immediately bolted for Weiss, with a biotic push from Yang Ruby attempted to knock Weiss out with a flying roundhouse kick only to be thrown backwards biotically. In an attempt to recover Yang dives over Ruby, grabs her arms midair, and continues her flip whilst pulling Ruby with her. Feet slamming into the ground Yang throws with all her might sending Ruby into the direction from whence she came. What failed the first time was successful the second time as Weiss went sprawling leaving behind the sound of a kicked puppy dog as Ruby's foot connected.

Continuing to spin Ruby unholsters her handgun and shoots from the hip in Blake's direction. It was a good thing she didn't spend the time trying to aim as she would've failed to see that Blake was already extremely close. Spinning midair, blade drawn Blake came within melee range of Ruby as she brought the blade in a downward slash. Twisting herself Ruby managed to block the blow with her pistol. Well, not so much block as parry as the blade sliced through the barrel of the replica weapon leaving it useless. Diving backwards Ruby attempted to gain some distance as Blake continued forward. Preparing for another swing of her blade Blake was forced to turn and block as Yang aimed to connect her fist with Blake's face.

Knocking Blake back a step Ruby turned and bolted for the barricades, using the spinning platform as a boost to throw her to the top of the pillar. In that time Weiss had gotten back up and immediately shielded Blake with the tech armor from her omni-tool, then herself. While she could fight in hand to hand combat she was nowhere near the level that Blake and Yang fought at. Understanding this Weiss biotically threw Yang's arm as she came in for another swing, enough for it to miss and make an opening for Blake as she spun and connected her foot with Yang's ribs knocking her back a few paces.

Turning and bolting Blake high tails it for the platforms aiming to get beyond. Hearing the pounding footsteps of Yang right behind her Blake goes to dive for the ledge as it comes around and up only to have her tech armor shatter in a thousand glistening fragments as Ruby has marked her termination. At that same time the sound of burning electricity could be heard behind her as Yang's barrier went down simultaneously. It seemed Weiss was literally getting her back. Diving for the platform edge Blake begins ascending only to have a large weight pull her down almost causing her to lose her grip as Yang held on for dear life, refusing to let her get away.

As the platform reached the apex of its revolution a shrill crackle could be heard as well as a couple of expletives, quickly followed by a couple of gunshots. On the way over the platform with Yang literally in tow Blake managed to make it over the top and beyond. Continuing to hold on to the platform edge Blake slammed her hips into it on the way down causing Yang to let go and drop below. Kicking off the platform Blake twisted through the air landing a few feet beyond Yang and begins taking shots at her. The first two shots slam into her left arm, the third into the platform as having swung back around Yang pushes herself under it and onto it as it pushes her back to the other half of the mat.

Jumping up and expecting to run into Weiss instead the snow-haired girl was walking away, hand on her forehead. Seeing a blur to her right Yang turns hands up ready to fight only to see it's Ruby running to her side. With a cheeky grin on her face she just shrugs "one down one to go. Ready?"

With a laugh Yang rubs her left shoulder "Yeah, though Blake got me good. Basic pincer relocater maneuver?"

"Sure." Was the red haired girl's only response before bolting to the left. Shrouding Ruby and herself in a barrier Yang quickly in tow sprints to the right. Jumping up she begins to wall-run the side of the pillar gaining her a few extra feet off the ground. Shotgun in hand she begins to fire from the hip to grab Blake's attention, only to realize that she isn't anywhere to be seen. Hitting the ground with a somersault she is almost blindsided as Blake begins firing from behind. Spinning around and diving backwards she begins again shooting her weapon. Blake hisses as her left arm gets shocked from the 'impact', but one of her rounds nails Yang in the leg. Refusing to be terminated and possibly lose the match Yang unholsters her sidearm and throws it towards and to her left.

Sidearm in the air Blake's attention is momentarily captured by the briefly unidentified object flying towards her. What she didn't see was that Yang was now unarmed, as she had thrown her shotgun to the right where Ruby was blitzing in through Blake's blindspot. Catching the gun midair Ruby flips and jumps again. Closing the remaining distance it was too late for Blake to take aim at her as all that filled her field of vision was the barrel of the weapon, followed by the sound of a click. Point blank to the face with no barriers or armor, it was certainly the end of the match.

"WHOO!" Ruby pumps her fist in the air laughing excitedly. Sprinting over she tackles Yang in a bear hug. "We won!"

"Well of course we did!" Laughing alongside her younger sister they pick themselves back up and make their way over to the benches where their gear was. Weiss was sitting down looking steamed and Blake was sitting next to her sipping some water.

"Awesome match guys." Ruby says with a shit eating grin "I was honestly worried at first you guys would take us both out."

"Well we might've had a chance if you hadn't destroyed my omni-tool!" snapped Weiss.

"What do you mean destroyed?" Blake asks

"It's completely useless, look." looking over the other three teammates watch as Weiss uselessly attempts to open the omni-tool.

"It's not broken, most likely just disabled. Let me take a look at it, I can fix it." Ruby speaks up

"No, it's already broken. I don't need you making it irreparable."

"A little bit of faith, please. You think I would nuke your omni-tool like that and not know how to fix it?"

"Can you fix her device Ruby?" Yang asks her

"Yeah, if she would let me look at it."

With a huff Weiss slides it off her wrist and hands it over. "If it's busted you owe me another one, which I know you can't afford so you better fix it."

"Oh, calm down there princess. If Ruby says she can fix it then she can. Just give her a chance." Weiss's only reply was a glare "That being said, what exactly did you do to her omni-tool Rubes?"

Presently toying with something unseen on the inside of cuff her reply was distracted at best. "Oh, I uhh… just…." trailing off she was clearly not paying much attention to them, already riveted to the device, determined to fix it. A moment later the device lit up and the holographic interface appeared in the air just above and around it. Playing with the interface for a few more moments she shuts it down and hands it back with a look of satisfaction on her face. "So I had to do an emergency reset on it. From there I just reboot it and it should be fixed. I suggest playing around with it for a few minutes just to be sure but knocking it out like I did shouldn't have done any long lasting damage."

"So again Rubes, what did you do to her omni-tool during the match?"

"Oh! I temporarily shorted it out with a controlled emp burst from my own omni-tool. The burst also took down her barrier, which I then shot her in the face so she was out." Clearly pleased with herself she continued "It was something I learned back at Signal Academy. I actually bricked one of my classmate's omni-tools with it. They still don't know it was me." with a giggle she continues "And with some more tinkering here we are. At worst all it will do is shut down your omni-tool and all currently running functions for a bit."

"How long is a bit?"

Ruby shrugs "Depends on the model mostly. I didn't come up with it by the way. There's plenty of information on how to do it and how to fix your gear if it happens to you. Just look around the web and you'll find more than you need."

"Well since there was no harm done I'd say it was rather creative. Have you used that during the tournament yet?" Blake questions

"Nope! I was planning on saving it for an emergency. Mainly because you can shield your omni-tool to reduce or negate the effect but it's pretty expensive or extremely time consuming to do yourself. I didn't want to use it early on and have people wise up and have us lose a possible advantage."

"Well, seeing as how we are your teammates for the duration of the tournament is there any other tricks up your sleeve we should know about in advance?"

Frowning slightly Ruby ponders for a moment "I might be able to make their weapons explode or catch on fire…."

"And now we know what she actually spent her free time doing back at Signal." Yang said with a laugh.

"How is it you had no idea Ruby was up to mischievous things?" Blake questions

"Because she spent as much time in the engineering lab as I did in the gym." Yang laughing again "That and if she did anything bad she never got caught so I didn't have to worry much."

"As much fun as it is to break and blow stuff up it's just as much fun to fix things. I promise not to break your stuff without knowing how to fix it first." Ruby holds a hand up in solemn promise.

"Well preferably please don't break our stuff at all, save it for the actual matches. Although if you have the time beforehand feel free to experiment. Any advantage you can give us would help." Weiss comments

"If you need help Ruby, I know a thing or two. I'd be willing to lend a hand." Blake nods

"Yeah, I'll take you up on that. I'll keep you posted. I'm planning on doing mostly maintenance tonight but if I get the time I'll hit you up. Anyway are you guys ready for round 3? Last matchup is myself and Blake against you two." Ruby nods at Yang and Weiss "Also how's the omni-tool, Weiss? All good?"

"Yeah, it's good and I'm ready to go if you guys are."

"Whoop! Let's do it." Yang says, punching her fists together in excitement

"Wait, I need to go replace my pistol real quick since Blake destroyed it." Ruby grins at her teammate

"I mean…" * _Shrugs*_ "Sorry." That gets a chuckle out of the group before Ruby bolts off, returning a moment later with a new handgun.

"Alright, I'm now. Let's go."

And with that the group of four made their way back onto the mat. Getting on their respective ends of the mat Weiss calls out. "Computer, begin training session 03." With that the obstacles materialized, or slight impedance in this case. What materialized was a small pillar two feet in diameter and one foot in height in the center of the room. Nothing else was fabricated into existence.

"All combatants stand ready.

5…

4…

3…

2…

1…

Begin!" spoke the computerized voice.

"Wait." Yang calls. Turning to her partner "Is that all that spawned in?"

"Appears that way. It's all random, you know that. Not much I can do other than reset it and start again."

"Yeah, because this doesn't provide any cover. With all of this open space the match is going to end in a matter of moments."

Stepping forward Blake speaks up "Maybe but out there in the galaxy there's no guarantee we are always going to have cover during a firefight. Sometimes we are just going to have to make due with what we have, like right now. I say we keep it and see how it plays out."

"What do you think, sis?" Yang looks over at Ruby as she speaks

"Well Blake has a point, the battlefield isn't always going to be to our advantage. The more practice we get the more well-rounded and adaptable we will be. I vote we keep it, but restart the timer."

Turning her gaze from her younger sister back to her partner Yang asks "You just want to restart the timer and go again, then?"

Weiss nods "Yeah, it may be quick but I have no doubt it'll be interesting."

"Alright, then let's start again." And with that Weiss reset the timer.

"All combatants stand ready.

5…

4…

3…

2…

1…

Begin!" spoke the computerized voice. And with that the brawl commenced. Weiss and Ruby jump backward while Blake and Yang blitz forward. Weiss throws up tech armor around Yang, but something weird happened. Instead of it being its signature orange color it was green. At the same time Ruby immediately hits the ground and begins taking shots at Weiss, knocking her barrier down and hitting her in the arm causing it to go numb.

With Weiss temporarily unable to use her omni-tool she unholsters her handgun and begins taking shots at Ruby, weaving to and fro as she charges forward. Jumping and dodging the distance closed considerably, making Ruby's rifle go from an advantage to disadvantage. Not to be outdone Ruby jumps up and bolts forward, also weaving as Weiss was firing at her as well. As the distance closed Weiss biotically lifts herself into the air as she jumps, suddenly above Ruby by several feet. Tired of playing laser tag with her opponent she heaves her handgun downwards and adds some extra oomph with biotics. At the same time Ruby dives and leans backwards bringing her rifle to bare and fires. At point blank range not only would it not miss but it would be an instant termination.

At the other end of the mat Yang and Blake were trading blows. Yang blitzes forward with a spinning kick only to be parried by the flat part of Blake's blade. Pushing off of her blade Yang spins back around handgun in hand and attempts to fire at Blake only to have her arm knocked aside with Blake's other hand. Back and forth they danced.

Blake swings her blade across her body aiming for Yang's torso only to miss by a hairs breadth as Yang leaned backwards, a dodge Neo would be proud of. Kicking upwards Yang kicks Blake's weapon out of her hand causing it to bounce across the mat. Using her biotics Yang pushes herself backwards to give herself some space and allows her to flip back into a fighting stance. Unholstering her handgun Yang begins firing at Blake. In an effort to not be terminated she begins somersaulting across the mat in an attempt to be harder to hit. While Yang was quite the shot she wasn't her younger sister, and as a result despite many very close calls for Blake a shot never landed.

As Blake was going to retrieve the blade Yang biotically pulls her leg out from under her causing her to stumble and fall. Taking advantage Yang blitzes forward and lands on top of Blake. She begins raining biotically enhanced punches down upon Blake, whom managed to wiggle and dodge or block all together, though barely. At one point Blake grabs Yang's arm and pulls her downward before flipping her up and over. As Yang tumbles and rights herself Blake dives for her blade and sprints forward catching Yang off balance. As the blade swings forward it slams into Yang's armor. What it should have done was deflect the attack and shatter the armor instead fizzled and exploded outward unleashing a shockwave that threw both women in opposite directions.

Blake was thrown clear of the mat and across the room where she landed and rolled, the breath knocked out of her. Yang on the other hand was not as lucky as she was sent careening into the nearby wall just beyond the boundary of the mat where she slammed with a loud crack, before sliding down and landing on the floor stunned and disoriented.

At about that time Ruby had just shot Weiss at point blank, and a pitiful squeak could be heard as Ruby was beamed in the forehead by Weiss's handgun. While her barrier took most of the energy it didn't stop the momentum of Weiss's weapon and the impact with her skull left her momentarily dazed. With Ruby being the last one standing, or laying in this case, Blake and Ruby are the winners as the training holoscreen announced loudly.

With Weiss having landed semi-gracefully she quickly helped Ruby up before grabbing her weapon. About this time they noticed that both of their other teammates were on the ground and not moving. With Ruby rushing over to her sister and Weiss rushing over to Blake they began checking them over for injuries and applying first aid with their medi-gel and omni-tools where necessary. Helping them over to the benches they fetched their water bottles and waiting for them to get their breath back.

"What in the hell was THAT?" Yang snapped. Her ears were ringing and her vision slightly fuzzy from her head hitting the wall. Putting a hand on her head she continues "Crap, I think I might have a concussion."

"You literally exploded. Why did you explode?" Blake asked clearly pissed off "I thought we agreed no surprises!" Turning to look at Weiss "Why did her armor explode, and why was it green? That could've killed us, and this isn't the place for that!"

"Don't look at me, I don't know! I've never seen that before, in fact it's never happened before, not until Ruby messed up my omni-tool." With her three other teammates now glaring at her Ruby simply held her hands up in an 'I surrender' pose. "I don't know, I didn't do it on purpose. I've never seen that before either. You said you're omni-tool was good to go before we started!"

"Well excuse me if I don't spend six hours performing every single function it is capable of in a benchmarking fashion!" With the rise of tension and anger in Weiss's voice Ruby begins to slowly scoot away on the bench.

"Hold on now before you go for her throat. Ruby, do you think you could fix it?" Blake inquires

"Maybe, I'd need a minute to see what the issue is. I have an idea though so hopefully it won't take long if I'm right."

"Ok, then if you can fix it do you think you could do it intentionally?"

"Wait, what?" "Huh?" "Excuse me?" was the chorus of replies that made their way to Blake's ears at her request.

"Ruby, do you or do you not think you could not only fix it but recreate it? Just trust me for a second."

"Like I said I'd have to look at it first." Ruby turns to Weiss and holds out her hand. "May I?"

"Don't break it again you dolt. Got it?"

"Yeah, I'll do my best." With the device in hand Ruby begins diagnosing the issue. Different beeps and noises begin emanating from the device as the holographic display flickers and changes whilst various screens flash by. Much of what is going on goes beyond Yang and Weiss's understanding but looking over her shoulder Blake seems to have taken apparent interest in what Ruby was doing.

Starting to sway in place Weiss looks up at Yang "Hey, you don't look so good. We should probably take you to medical and get you looked at."

"No no, I'm good. I prom-" Right then Yang stumbles back a step, hand on the side of her head. "On second thought the room is starting to spin. Maybe I should…"

"Alright." Weiss says "I'll take you. Blake, you want to come with or stay here and keep Ruby company, make sure she doesn't break it again."

"Yeah Weiss, will do. Go ahead, message us how it goes." With a nod Weiss and Yang walk out.

"So, Ruby, do you know what went wrong?" Her only reply was a noncommittal grunt. To Blake's ears it sounded a little positive though, which was good. Several minutes go by as Ruby continues to mess with various menus on the device, and if Blake was correct, managed to gain admin privileges on the device. Eventually Ruby speaks up. "So I figured out the problem. It seems there was some sort of buffer overflow on the process that the tech armor runs off of. This caused it to bug out and subsequently go green and explode."

"So you've fixed it?"

"Yeah, I fixed it. I had to go in manually and have the process shut itself down, then restart. From there I reboot the device and rechecked the process and it seems to be working fine now. Now why were you asking if I could recreate it?"

"I was thinking that it was a pretty good trick, one I've never heard of and apparently neither have you. Is it possible you could add that trick to your arsenal? Maybe duplicate the current process but change it so it behaves like the bugged out version did?"

"Uhh… possibly. I know why it messed up and how but going deeper in I don't know what exactly it changed to cause it. That is starting to get near unfamiliar territory. I could probably figure it out but I don't know how long it would take me, and since we are busy preparing for our respective matches I won't have a lot of free time."

"Well I know a thing or two about computers, which may surprise you. Mind if I take a look?"

"Well, Weiss doesn't want it broken again, and I just fixed it and she entrusted it to me to keep it that way soo…"

With a smile Blake puts a hand on hers "I promise I won't break it. You can sit here next to me and watch me give it a look. And since you will be watching what I do if I mess something up you can fix it as you will have seen what I did." Looking into Ruby's eyes she could see the younger girl's resolve wavering. With her face going red Ruby hands the device over and looks away. With a slight smirk Blake takes the device and begins navigating the interface with a level of finesse that almost made Rube jealous.

After a few minutes of poking around and some back and forth banter they manage to find a way to replicate what was done by accident earlier. Taking the initiative Blake suggests testing it out to be sure.

"But Blake, I'd rather us not end up like my sister. I don't know how good of an idea that is."

"Right, but better to test it now in a safe space than out in the arena and it go horribly wrong, or worse. That and we aren't actually going to let it explode, not yet at least. Just to see if it casts to begin with. We can recall the armor afterwards as well so no harm no foul."

"Wweellll alright. I can't really argue with that. That and I can't lie, I'm extremely excited about this." Both women start giggling at that. Ruby makes her way to the center of the training mat and waits for Blake's signal.

"Alright Ruby, you ready?"

"Yep! Do it!" and a moment later Ruby was shrouded in a holographic green suit of armor. Slowly moving around the armor appeared no different than its parent set. Moving and adjusting easily with her motions all seemed well. Unfortunately at that moment both Yang and Weiss walked back in.

'What in the HELL do you two think you're doing?!" Weiss nearly screams. Both girls jump at her cry, Ruby appearing extremely guilty and Blake simply looking startled, before blanking out the emotions on her face.

"Relax Weiss, we fixed your omni-tool and did you one better. We managed to not only figure out what went wrong but also recreate it."

"And why would you do that?"

"Because it could be useful out there in the arena. Great inventions throughout history were developed by accident. Look up penicillin for example. The process that started this has been safely duplicated. We've even saved it to your omni-tool so you can cast it like you would your tech armor. So far it appears to be completely safe, though we haven't tried to make it explode yet. That was a bit too dangerous to do without you guys here."

Taking her omni-tool back Weiss stares at them in annoyance and slight incredulousness. Looking over at Ruby she dawns her omni-tool, opens up the interface, and recalls the armor. "X Armor? What's the X stand for?"

"Explode!" Ruby said enthusiastically

"Explode Armor? I mean, you aren't wrong I guess." Frowning for a second Weiss looks over the details of the new ability in her arsenal. Looking back at them she sighs "Thank you for fixing it."

"It was our pleasure to!" Ruby beamed, happy that Weiss was no longer angry at her. With that she strides over to her sister and begins looking her over "So how are you feeling? What did the doctors say?"

"They said I definitely have a concussion but you did a good job getting the medigel applied and that helped a great deal, but they said I can't sleep for a while just to be safe, even though that's all I want to do now."

"Well I'd love to babysit you but I'm already running behind for the workshop so I've got to go. I would suggest going to the gym but that will probably not help you so go shopping or something. Get out for a bit, don't go home or else you'll want to take a nap even more."

With a laugh Yang hugs her little sister "Thanks mom, I'll be sure to do that." Turning to the other two "how are you guys feeling? You good to call it a day?" With a 'yep' and a nod from the two the four of them begin making their departure from the training room.

...

...

Hey Everyone, I wanted to take the time to thank you all for reading. I'm having a blast writing this, so much so that I'm getting ahead of myself and ended up writing portions of ch 4 before I finished ch 3 (oops). This is why there has been a delay on posting this, and for that I'm sorry. That being said I'm hoping to have ch 4 done and posted by Friday so not too long of a wait!.

Anyway whether you're joining in just now or have been reading since ch 1 I'd really appreciate it if you all would be willing to take a moment for me and leave a comment or a review. Tell me if you love it or hate it. Feed back allows me to improve and bring you all a better story with every chapter! So any feedback is very much appreciated, good, bad, and ugly.

Thanks again y'all! 'Till next time!


	4. Chapter 4

Hey everyone, Sorry for the delay. I know I promised to have this up yesterday but after doing a final proofread I decided I wasn't all that happy with some of what I wrote and decided to rewrite certain sections. With that out of the way I feel like it is up to a better standard and I hope you all enjoy this chapter.

...

...

Later that evening

The day and night cycle on the Citadel follows patterns similar to other home worlds. The artificial sky will begin to darken as an orange glow permeates through the air and infects the shadows. The inhabitants begin finishing their daily rituals only to begin their nightly ones. While a level of quiet sweeps over various areas a level of roar infuses the air in others. The clubs, such as Chora's Den and Purgatory. The casinos such as Silver Coast and Flux. And most prominently the Armax Arsenal Arena. They all grow and propagate in excitement and volume as those throughout the Citadel wish to unwind from another long day of work.

Among the volume of the nightly masses two individuals made their way away from the symphony of energy. Walking along the sunset shadows were cast that were strikingly feminine in curvature, and unusually graceful in movement. A woman with ashen-white hair and a scar on across her left eye in stride next to a woman with hair black as night and amber colored eyes. Making their way back to their places of residence they conversed and compared notes regarding the excitement of the day.

"They're quite….fiery." Blake says, breaking the comfortable silence that had cast itself between them. Neither of them were the excitably outgoing type, which was a sharp contrast to their freshly fought new teammates.

"Yes, yes they are. And infuriating." Weiss replies with a frown, recalling the embarrassment of getting her butt beat, not once but twice.

"I think you're just bitter because they proved more than you could handle. Hell, they were almost too much for me."

Weiss made no reply, instead choosing silence and a frown. She was displeased by the fact that her own silent thoughts were mirrored out loud, even if it was just the two of them. She didn't know them, therefore she didn't trust them.

Walking down the road the two of them were awash in lights of all colors. Unlike most of the Citadel the Silver Sun Strip never slowed down, whether it was day or night. Along both sides restaurants seduced passerby with the mouth-watering sensations that drifted aimlessly from the open windows and doors. Shops ensnared traveling bystanders with entrancing music and eye catching advertisements. Unfortunately for all of those involved neither women were enthralled, already too hypnotized by the calling of a hot shower and a warm bed, desperately needed after a long day between the bar and the arena's gym.

After several long moments Weiss speaks up. "I think they suit us, strategically speaking."

"How so?"

"Well, you and Yang are both close combat fighters. Your weapons and fighting styles show that. Ruby prefers long range and I myself prefer to support. Not to mention we all have at least basic medical training. We just need to learn how to work together, which I don't think will be an issue if we had a strong leader."

"Well do we really need a leader? I think as a group we are capable of working together just fine and everyone is capable of at least pulling their own weight. Besides, even if we did have a self-proclaimed leader who would it be?"

"Well me of course." All dramatic like Weiss flips her hair back over her shoulder.

"And why you? What makes you a better leader than myself or Ruby or Yang? If I recall correctly both Yang and Ruby got leadership training back at Signal. On top of that Ruby was actually the leader of their squad for the duration of their schooling there."

"They may have trained at Signal Academy but I was trained by the best money could buy, ranging from combat to tactics to leadership."

"Ah, yes. That's why they beat your ass more than once back in the gym." Blake said while successfully trying to hold back an amused grin. Receiving a glare that's lethal to lesser folk they continue heading down the walkway. Chin held high Weiss approaches the Citadel taxi service and hails a taxi.

"Where are you headed?" Weiss asks, words short and clipped.

"Aurora Falls hotel."

"Interesting. Get in then." Weiss steps into the back seat of the hovercraft and begins entering their destination while Blake climbs in after her. With the closing of the door the taxi shoots off, falling into traffic amongst others going about their daily routines. Impossibly high skyscrapers zip by as traffic flows around them.

Having traveled quite a bit around the galaxy one would think that views such as their current one wouldn't be as breath taking, but that is certainly not the case. Staring out through the windows of the taxi both women were treated to a near literal stunning view of the Serpent Nebula, the location where the Citadel defensively sits. Generally most nebula are not very dense, but the area around the Citadel is dense enough to be seen with the naked eye. Illuminated by various stars scattered throughout the cloud of dust and debris the sky around the Citadel is awash in a torrent of color, ranges settling mainly in pinks and purples.

Looking over Blake noticed that her cold-shouldered teammate had dropped her hoity toity posture and composure. In its place was a face filled with wonder, a face currently stuck to the window in awe. Surprised at Weiss's reaction to the nebula Blake was unable to keep a nearly imperceptible giggle from escaping. "What's so funny?" Weiss asks, spinning around in her seat. Matching her gaze to Blake, Blake decides to reply before she got worked up. "You look as if you've never seen anything like this before. Surely someone that comes from money would have been to the Citadel before, or event traveled to other places."

Turning back to the window with a sigh Weiss manages to catch a snapshot of her reflection in the window of a building as the taxi soared by. "I spent most of my time at home studying or training. My parents demanded that I be the best, there was no other option, no substitute." Coughing daintily Weiss continues. "I have an older sister, Winter. One day she decided that she had had enough and she ran away. Ran away right to the Alliance Navy. She's now a Major, not that she really had a choice at that point other than to ascend. My parents cut her off completely, refuse to speak to her, no financial help, no nothing. She was originally supposed to take over the family business…" Trailing off she continues to stare out into the void, yet not seeing as the memories dance in front of her eyes.

"Since Winter refused to take over the family business that task ended falling onto my shoulders. There were very few things in life I knew were certainties. I knew that Mass Effect fields were both figuratively and literally reality changing. I knew that the galaxy had so much to offer, that anything you could ever desire was out there. All you had to do was go fight for it. And I certainly knew without a doubt that I would rather die than follow in my father's footsteps, to die rather than be some…some kind of…" Trailing off again Weiss left the void in the conversation fill with silence. Looking out Weiss noticed that the transport port was coming up and they would be departing momentarily.

Blake speaks up for the first time since Weiss opened up a little bit. "So after studying and training as much as you could you decided to run away, just like your sister. That's why you're here, for the tournament. You need the funds and the direction that winning it could provide."

"Yes and no. At the moment I don't need the funds, per say. I have my own personal account that my father doesn't know about. An account that I deposited quite a bit of money into before I was cut off. It won't last me forever, but it should be enough to get me on my feet and going." Shaking her head Weiss turns around to face Blake "But I looked up to my sister, a lot. She was my role model growing up, I wanted to be just like her. Although I'm pretty sure that's the case for most younger siblings. So when she took off and started making something of herself without our father's influence, I took the inspiration and am now doing the same." On that note the hovercraft taxi landed at the travel port. As the door swings upwards Weiss swipes her omni-tool over the pay-pad before gracefully stepping out of the vehicle, with Blake right behind her.

The hotel itself is refined, yet minimalistic. Walking inside the duo make their way across the lobby. Heels muffled by the grey and black carpet the two of them pass by a long desk behind which stood a holographic VI. Across from the desk was a fair-sized lounge. Complete with kickback chairs, bookshelves stuffed with old fashioned paper books, and a roaring fireplace. Upon reaching the bank of elevators on the far side of the lobby they find that multiple open immediately upon their request. Stepping into one at random Weiss asks "Which floor are you heading to?" "Six" was Blake's reply. Without another word the elevator shoots its way up. Upon ascent Blake is quick to notice that no other floor number is selected. _What are the odds? Same hotel, same floor. Wonder what the chances are that our rooms are next to each other._ Blake muses silently.

Getting off on floor six the two teammates make a left and walk down the hall towards their own rooms. Passing silvery steel door after door with boots muffled by the muted grey carpet under their feet they made their way to their respective rooms. _Not quite next to each other._ Blake thinks with a trickle of amusement. Their rooms were diagonal from each other, next door then across the hall to their lefts, respectively.

"Well, what are the odds?" Weiss asks rhetorically "Anyway, I'm going to get some rest. Have a good night Blake." With a nod in return they both enter their rooms.

At about that time across the Citadel a small frigate code named the SSV Neptune began docking procedures. Walking through the airlock off the ship the Commanding Officer pulls out her communicator. "It's me. I have arrived." Tucking a lock of red hair behind her ear she continues "Inform our contact that it's almost time. Have him locate the targets and stand by." Without saying goodbye the woman pockets the communicator in a pouch on her combat armor she makes her way into the bowels of the massive space station.

…..

The Next Morning

Waking up in the morning is never easy, no matter who you are. The only thing that makes it better is why you are getting up in the first place. For Weiss Schnee it's to go shopping.

Rolling out of bed she begins her morning ritual of hygiene, changing, a small amount of makeup, then out the door. Dressed in a black and white skirt with black stockings, a black blouse underneath a light blue jacket, and a white silk scarf all on top of a pair of black heels with silver lining she made her way out and across the hall to her teammate's room. _Why shop alone when you can have someone help carry your bags?_ She thought jokingly

Knocking on the door she was greeted by a bedraggled mess of shimmery black hair. "Good morning!" Weiss greeted. Standing there in black yoga pants and a white tank top Blake simply glared back through the curtain of black hair that hung in front of her face with malicious intent in her eyes. Apparently unphased by Blake's reaction Weiss continued "I know you're super busy and everything but I need a shopping partner. I'm heading down to the Presidium Commons, want to join me?"

Standing there momentarily Blake tried to figure out if she was serious, that that was the reason why she woke her up so early in the morning. Looking over her face and the way she was dressed she concluded that she couldn't think of many other things that the former heiress would want to be doing this early. Making her decision Blake spoke up "Sorry Weiss, not now. Ask Ruby if she wants to go, she seems to adore you for some weird reason."

"If I wanted to go shopping with Ruby and even Yang you think I would've not invited them already? C'mon, breakfast will be on me, with coffee." Brushing the hair out of her face Blake calculated for a moment if she could afford to go. She didn't want the woman to know of her depleted accounts and she didn't want to take the chance of being tempted to spend the remainder on something if she was out. No, the best choice was to not go at all. "Like I said, I'm sorry. I can't."

"Why not? This is really our only day that we have, within the next day or two we have our next match and we need to be ready. Besides, I could use the company to be honest."

 _Sigh, if I don't tell her she will figure it out anyway, and rather quickly most likely. She's too damn smart for her own good._ "I just…I don't have any money left. It's partially why I'm here for the tournament to begin with. I can't go back to where I was before this. I just…" _Sigh_ Running a hand through her mop of hair in exasperation Blake just stared at Weiss, not sure how she would react.

Listening to Blake with a frown Weiss steps in before Blake can regain her composure and wiggle her way out. "Listen, I have the funds to cover for you, let me take care of it for today. Ah AH!" Holding up a hand she continued on, intent on stopping the protest from forming. "If it is such an issue, hurts your pride too much or whatever you can always pay me back when we win. I won't be hurting by any means even if I got you top of the line gear. Besides, I need you to be at your absolute best, you're not the only one who has everything riding on this tournament. If you aren't tip top then that's just one more variable that is stacked against us needlessly. And that would be unacceptable."

With a sigh Blake looks at her feet for a brief moment, contemplating, before looking at her again. "I don't really have a choice, do I?"

"Not really." Weiss said with the flicker of a smile

Sighing again in exasperation and annoyance Blake turns around and stalks back into the room, leaving the door open behind her. Walking over to the nightstand she checks the time and flips on the bedside lamp. As she grabs a change of underwear and heads into the bathroom she hears the click of the door close and muffled footsteps as Weiss enters the room. Closing the bathroom door behind her Blake begins her morning ritual.

While Blake did her thing Weiss walks around the room, examining the Spartan setup. The single sized bed was against the left corner of the room with the nightstand against the wall and the headboard for the bed. Surrounding the bed were deep navy blue walls and a grey, black, and white plaid carpet. Across from the bed on the opposite wall was a medium sized holoscreen. All things considered while it was a rather small room, it was also very homey. Something told her that Blake enjoyed that, she didn't seem like the frilly frilly type.

As Weiss was about to make her way to the small kitchen near the door something glimmered under the bed and caught her eye. Reaching down and sliding it out it was a small suitcase filled with various books and a few articles of clothing. The item that caught her eye was a particular book. It was a beautiful purple leather bound with glimmering gold lettering and outlining. _The Foundation Trilogy_ by: Isaac Asimov the front cover sang. The book itself was hefty, easily several hundred pages and by the looks of it very well loved yet cared for. Among the other books within the suitcase was a similarly leather bound but in blue copy of _H.P. Lovecraft The complete Fiction_ , a paperback copy _Ninjas of Love_ by: Patty Berdioler, and _Naked In Death_ by: J.D. Robb.

 _Well, I don't know why but her choice of reading material almost doesn't surprise me. At the same time it does say quite a lot about her. Loves Romance, Mystery, Suspense, Horror, quite the bookworm._ Upon hearing more movement and the sound of the bathroom door Weiss pushes everything back under the bed and stands up just as Blake walks out.

Walking to the small wardrobe on the wall between the holoscreen and the bathroom Blake dawns a pair of black pants, white tank top, a grey zip-up sweatshirt with a black sleeveless leather zip up jacket on top.

"Ready?" Weiss asks. With a nod the two of them head out, making their way to the Commons. "There better be coffee" Blake said

"And coffee you shall have." Weiss said with a small chuckle as the door clicked closed.

At about that time across the way the spritely sisters were starting their own day the usual way, with way too much energy for a normal person to interact with. With Ruby's bottomless well of hyperactive energy and Yang's very nearly visible fiery personality coffee was not a substance they ever bothered to drink. Because of this endless energy and their livelihoods spent in a gym of some kind between the two of them watching what they ate was never an issue, something indicated by the half-empty box of doughnuts and shrinking sitting on the table in the room. Sitting on Ruby's bed still in pajamas they scarfed down the food like they hadn't eaten in days.

"But wut I wush shaynig befoor-"

"Ruby, chew, swallow, then talk." Her older sister said laughing.

A moment of concentrated effort later Ruby breathed a sigh of relief and repeated. "What I was saying before was that they are not at all what I was expecting. I was expecting more soldierly types but they seem both far from it. Weiss seems to be very smart, very driven and a natural desire to be a leader but she doesn't seem to naturally work well in a group, not that she's bad at it because she's distressingly graceful in everything that she does…" Ruby frowns and continues "but she seems… not clumsy… not awkward… but… yeah…"

"Not perfectly fluid?" Yang offers

"Ssuurree. Anyway then there's Blake. First off sis, you need to get a hold of yourself. You were practically a dog in heat when she was near you, like damn."

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" Yang said defensively, crossing her arms for emphasis.

"Oh please, every time she was near you your heart rate went up. And then-"

"Wait, how would you know what my heart rate was?" Yang interjected

"I was monitoring everyones' vitals during our sparring matches, not just mine." Ruby shrugged "I monitor them always, including during actual matches."

"Oh…"

"Like I was saying and then your eyes weren't glued but straight welded to her butt. Like seriously I have no worldly idea how she didn't notice you couldn't take your eyes off of her."

Holding her hands up in surrender "Alright, alright. Busted. But you can't blame me, seriously. Those pants though, I mean…" Biting her lip Yang falters off.

Shaking her head in amusement at her sisters behavior "Come on sis, get your head in the game. Can you at least wait until after the tournament? We can't afford to scare them off, we don't have the time to train with a new one. Our first match is the day after tomorrow."

"I know I know, I will behave and will keep my hands and eyes to myself" Holding up a hand as if in oath.

"Good. So going back Blake seems very independent. Resourceful, calculating, determined. I like that and we can definitely use that on our team. That and she has a touch for electronics and computers. She actually helped me with Weiss's omni-tool. That one was a surprise."

"That and she is quite flexible in close range combat. She's good if we need to get in close and quiet to something/someone but her strengths definitely fall back once distance is gained." Yang said

"Not that you're any better in that regard." Ruby countered

"I mean I just clorsphd thrdowh asdufek-"

"Yang, what happened to chewing and swallowing?" Ruby said rolling her eyes

A loud gulp could be heard as Yang swallowed the rest of the doughnut in a very unladylike manner, then preceded to bust out laughing. "Sorry, these are just so damn good."

"I know, right?!" Ruby proceeds to bounce up and down on the couch while reaching for her fourth one. "But like I was saying she's good with electronics, flexible and creative, and silent as can be. We can definitely use that in the tournament."

"And what about Weiss? Her bossiness and wanna-be-leader attitude isn't exactly a skill that's useful in life or death situations, unless she's ACTUALLY a leader." Yang said, reaching for her fifth doughnut. _Dang, we are almost out. Looks like it's going to be an extra-long workout today!_

"True, but she is capable of buffing us considerably, and she's gifted when it comes to treating injuries and other medical ailments. That and she really is overall exceptionally smart, we just need to channel that in combat." Ruby said biting into another doughnut.

"You know, I was thinking. When it came to fighting in pairs, strategically, a few of them were quite dangerous. Think for a second, you prefer to fight from a distance. If you were paired with Blake, you could watch her back as she went in low and quiet. In terms of a sneak or surprise attack that would be a brutal combination, especially if you disabled their equipment before she got there. They would have a hard time fighting her off up close.

Then let's flip the table, I love to charge in and just ruin their days. I hit hard and fast but I'm constantly an open target. If Weiss were to sit back, perhaps near you and aid me: biotically throw me around, help with recasting my barrier and throwing up that tech armor. Even if they were landing hits on me I can focus more on knocking heads and less on covering my fantastic booty as she patches me up on the fly."

"That is definitely some team tactics that would work pretty well. In theory it sounds pretty good, but that also depends on a lot of factors, who we are fighting, how many there are, the environment around us, etc. That being said you could even flip them around. I help cover Weiss's back as she goes in and rips them apart biotically and just causes havoc as you and Blake rush in and pick them off one by one. With the three of you up in the action if something happens you all will be right there capable of patching each other up."

Laughing in excitement at the evolution of their team Yang quips up "Yeah, but just like you said that is something that also depends on a variety of things. That being said with the way the tournament is set up any of those could work without too much issue." Taking a moment to get up and get some more water for the both of them Yang returns and sits back down.

"So Yang, taking a step back. Dismissing what can be. Dismissing what already was. What do you think of our new teammates?"

Pondering quietly for a long moment Yang thinks over the question, mulling it over in her mind. "Well, like we've said they bring a lot to the table and they allow us a great deal of flexibility in a variety of situations. But, like Weiss, and to a lesser extent Blake, they don't seem as comfortable when working with others. Maybe we just need more practice, especially in an environment where it actually matters, not some chopped up faux arena gym floor but the real thing against actual opponents. They are both fiercely independent fighters and really seem to care about being here, whatever their motivations are. But I like them quite a bit." Sitting back against the footboard Yang stretches out and relaxes, pleased that things are continuing to work out.

"Mhm" Was Ruby's only reply, a mix between a sigh and a grunt. Yang knew what she meant though; affirmation and understanding.

…

A Couple Hours Later

The Presidium is a beautifully serene place. As shops and restaurants lined the sides of the avenue people of all species, races, and creeds mixed and mingled. Down the center of the avenue was a forest of plant and fauna life with a lake that flowed all around. Balconies and walkways ranged all over; above, below, and through the canopy of life as they made their way from one side to the other.

Walking along one side of the avenue two women were heading towards the larger emporiums just up the way. Having just finished a delicious breakfast at Apollo's Café they were stuffed and happy. A couple cups of coffee and free food helped to negate the foul mood in which Blake was forced to start the day, while Weiss was content in having someone to go shopping with, and with no qualms about letting her buy things. She enjoyed doing things like that, helping others when and where she could. Most wouldn't believe it because of her icy exterior, but that was just a matter of self-defense.

Passing alongside a series of large holoscreens to their right what was playing a Blasto the Jellyfish movie trailer suddenly flickered and was taken over by the Citadel News Network. "Ladies and Gentlemen, good afternoon. This is Lisa Lavender here today with a special breaking news bulletin."

"Well that's weird." Blake said turning towards the screen.

"What's up?" Weiss asked, having been paying attention to a couple of salarians leaning on one of the balcony railings off to her left arguing about some thermo-plast couplings and other things that she couldn't begin to pronounce. Turning around herself to stand by Blake's side she noticed the emergency bulletin.

"We have just received word that the Council has deemed one of their most beloved Spectres a traitor. Former Council Spectre Saren Arterius has had his Spectre status revoked on charges of treason and unjustified mass murder. Details have surfaced explaining that Saren was behind the attack on the human colony of Eden Prime not all that long ago. How it is that Saren achieved that event is still unknown, and our sources within the Council are unable to comment at this time. Once we receive updates regarding this development we will bring them straight to you all.

Following up today is a beautiful day to be human. In just a moment humanity will receive their first very own Spectre. Commander Shepard, N7, Alliance Navy has earned the honor after facing down Former Spectre Saren Arterius at the Battle of Eden Prime and exposing him as a traitor. What that evidence is that Commander Shepard handed over to the Council is currently not available to us, unfortunately. But again, as we continue to gather more information and facts we will let you all know.

And now ladies and gentlemen our very own investigative journalist Emily Wong is about to capture a beautiful moment today, the swearing in of Commander Shepard, Council Spectre. Over to you Emily."

"Thank you Lisa. That's right, any moment now it will begin. Right now the Council is still in talks with the Commander regarding the rogue Spectre, and once that's finished it – Wait, hold that thought because here we go. Ladies and Gentlemen, Commander Shepard."

Down below the Commander, the human ambassador Udina, and human Alliance Navy Captain Anderson stood on an extruded platform facing the Council, where the three Council members in turn faced the commander. The large hall grew quiet, yet the thrum of excitement and suspense flooded the air. The balconies overhead and along the sides of the hall were flooding with people, the unexpected knighting of a Spectre drawing them near. It's quite rare for an event such as this to occur, and the Citadel knows it. Really, truly this was one of the most perfect places to be knighted. Inside the Council's chambers themselves, overlooking a glass platform behind the Council that overlooked all of the rest of the Citadel and the deep space beyond. To say it was a beautiful view from where the Commander stood would be a vast understatement.

Asari Councilor: Commander Shepard – Step Forward.

*Commander Shepard steps forward*

Asari Councilor: It is the decision of the Council that you be granted all the powers and privileges of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch of the Citadel.

Salarian Councilor: Spectres are not trained, but chosen. Individuals forged in the fire of service and battle; those whose actions elevate them above the rank and file.

Asari Councilor: Spectres are an ideal, a symbol. The embodiment of courage, determination, and self-reliance. They are the right hand of the Council, instruments of our will.

Turian Councilor: Spectres bear a great burden. They are protectors of galactic peace, both our first and last line of defense. The safety of the galaxy is theirs to uphold.

Asari Councilor: You are the first human Spectre, Commander. This is a great accomplishment for you and your entire species.

Commander Shepard: I'm honored, Councilor.

Salarian Councilor: We're sending you into the Traverse after Saren. He's a fugitive from justice, so you are authorized to use any means necessary to apprehend or eliminate him.

Commander Shepard: Any idea where to find him?

Turian Councilor: We will forward any relevant files to Ambassador Udina.

Asari Councilor: This meeting of the Council is adjourned.

"And there it was, the swearing in of Commander Shepard - the first human Spectre. It was short, quick, and to the point but they sure know how to tug a heart string. Anyway, this is Emily Wong Citadel News Network. Back to you Lisa."

"Thank you Emily. As of right now there have been no new updates in regards to our previous news story so for now everyone out there stay safe, work hard, and we will bring you any information that we can. This is Lisa Lavender Citadel News Network signing off." And on that note all of the giant holoscreens go black for several seconds before a replay of the Blasto the Jellyfish movie trailer begins.

Stepping away from the screens they begin again their casual stroll towards the shop fronts. "Well that was exciting. Our very first Spectre, which must be exciting to be in his shoes." Blake comments with a hint of awe in her voice. To be a hero whom saves lives, stops horrible crime and brings the worst of the worst to justice so that others may live happily. What just happened was history in the making, and she was there to witness it. "Maybe one that that will be us."

"You want to be a Spectre?" Weiss asks

"I mean, sure. To write wrongs, to fight injustices. The Asari have the Justicars. The Salarians have the STGs. We as humans have the N7 program. They are considered the best of the best, because they are. All of them. But the Spectres… the Spectres are even better than that. They are all the best at what they do, and close to at what they aren't. They say that a single Spectre has the ability to disable entire armies. They are resourceful, intelligent beyond basic comprehension- "

"You really look up to them, don't you? Romanticize even..."

Looking down at her feet Blake watches herself put one foot in front of the other. Sighing deeply she changes course and makes for a nearby railing. Leaning against it Blake looks out over the lake that glistened beneath them, small waves lapping lazily against the walls below. "You're not the only one to run away from the life they lived before, the place they called home. Sure, I had parents who loved and cared for me. But…" looking at her hands she sees her knuckles turn white, fists clenched. "The things that I saw, the atrocities I couldn't prevent. The place I came before here was a farce. On the surface it stood for something, something great. For the longest time I believed it too, but then I became entangled with someone. Someone who worked for what was below the surface, a surface shimmering with hope. Hope for people who needed it, wanted it.

I began to see what it was we were really standing for, fighting for. It was horrible but at the time I couldn't leave. I was trapped, and so I waited. I bided my time, saving up as much money as I could and even 'siphoned' away some equipment and gear to aid me in my escape. And when the time was right I did what I had to do, and so here we are. Becoming a Spectre is the ultimate dream, because what comes with that is the true ability to change things. The strength and resources and will power to overcome any obstacle that stands in their path towards what they believe in. Things that I all lack."

Not saying anything in response Weiss continues to look out, watching the people on the platforms below bustle about in their own way. The cool metal of the railing causing goosebumps to work their way up her arms. As the silence stretched on she realized Blake wasn't going to say anymore. Her piece was done, some invisible weight lifted off her chest imperceptibly, perhaps. Finally speaking up for the first time Weiss decides to be less than tactful. "I disagree."

"Excuse me?" Blake said, whipping her head around to stare at her teammate.

"I disagree. With a few things in fact." Keeping her voice calm Weiss intentionally doesn't look Blake in the eyes. Despite the fact that she is possibly starting an argument she doesn't want to start a fight, in fact just the opposite. "Becoming a Spectre doesn't mean you just get vast amounts of power bestowed upon you. By the time you become one you will already be one. Having gone through the trials and made unimaginable sacrifices you would develop the strength and gain the wisdom along the way. For the most part having the title of Spectre would be more of a label by that time.

And another thing!" Turning now to face Blake and look her in the eyes. "To say you don't have the strength or will power to do something, to overcome an obstacle is bullshit. The fact that you planned and waited for the opportunity to escape shows that. If it was as dangerous as you made it seem it would've not been an easy ask to begin with! The fact you put everything you had on the line and enter the tournament, something you had a very tiny chance of winning to begin with, to put your faith in total strangers to help you is not an easy task. To escape from a shitty situation is not something all people can do, and to move forward into a situation possibly just as dangerous takes a certain level of courage not all possess. Sure" Taking her pointer finger she lightly taps it to Blake's chest, as if to emphasize a point "you could have done nothing, stayed where you were and wallowed. Sure you could've fled like you did and just ran and hid, not doing anything to better yourself or those you left behind. But you didn't. You are stronger than you give yourself credit for, far less than you deserve.

But to become a Spectre you have a long ways to go, sure. Just don't forget what is now behind you because eventually you may end up back there." With the flicker of a smile Weiss goes to walk past Blake, before putting her hand on her shoulder. "Oh, and one more thing I disagree with. You make it sound like you ran, fled even but you didn't. Think of it more… as a tactical redirection. You changed the path you walked on. Like I said before that takes courage. Anyway" taking her hand off Blake's shoulder Weiss turns to walk off "let's get going again, before tears start to fall from our little heart to heart." And with a small chuckle Weiss starts off.

Watching her teammate grow the physical distance between them she calls out. "Weiss, wait." Stopping and turning to look over her shoulder Weiss looks back. "Hm?"

"Thanks." With a smile Blake catches up and the two of them continue onwards.

Making their way into the steady stream of people they begin making their way through the commons once again. After several moments of comfortable silence Blake decides to break it "So Weiss, where are we headed first?"

"Well, it seems pretty clear that you need some decent combat armor so we are going to a store called Cipritine Armory. When I first got to the Citadel I made an acquaintance who works there so I'm hoping he can help us get started and help us find what we need."

"Always resourceful, aren't you?"

"Yep!" The rest of the journey was uneventful. People milled around, the smell of various alien cuisines wafted through the air, seducing passerby for a bite. The sounds of the various wildlife in the trees and waters down below can be heard in the background. Really it was just all so…calm and collected. Serene even. Coming up on the store Blake found herself surprised at the minimalism of the store. The shop front was a set of double glass doors and a small Neon Red sign that spanned the width of the door speaking out 'Cipritine Armory' above the doors. No flashy advertisements, no obnoxious salesmen, just a pair of doors and a sign. This was a stark contrast to the surrounding shops, and maybe that in of itself was the reason. It displayed as a way for shoppers to take a break from the onslaught on the senses, a haven while also providing them what it is they were looking for.

Pleased at this revelation the pair of them walk inside. It seems the shop front was not just for show, or lack thereof, as the inside perfectly reflected it. The floor itself was a series of glowing white glass tiles. The walls and ceiling were a pseudo-brushed aluminum type material. Large long wooden tables lined the inside of the shop. Resting on the tables were a wide range of items, lining from weapons and armor to weapon mods to ammo. In front of each item was a holoscreen detailing everything from item specifications to price and availability.

"Here, give me one second, I'll be right back." With a nod from Blake Weiss begins making her way to the customer service counter at the back of the store. Weaving through throngs of people and around various tables. Eventually having made her way through the crowd and through the line that waited at the counter she stood in front of a Turian in a black and red suit.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for Mr. Dante. Is he in today?"

"I'm sorry miss, but while he is in he is extremely busy right now and is dealing with a small emergency. I'd be more than willing to leave a message for you if you would like?"

"That won't be necessary, would you just tell him that Weiss is here and requires his help when he gets a chance? I'm willing to wait and I'm sure if you tell him I'm here he will make himself available." Flashing a smile at the representative behind the counter he ponders for a moment.

"Alright Miss Weiss, give me one moment." The gentleman gets up from his chair and makes his way through a large thick steel-type looking door. A few minutes pass before he returns. "Miss Weiss, was it? He seemed unusually thrilled when he heard you were here. Like I said it will be a bit but he should be out to assist you momentarily."

"Thank you, when he's ready let him know I'll be over looking at the armor."

"Of course Miss, in the meantime is there anything else I can help you with? Perhaps point you in the right direction for something you are looking for?"

"No thanks, that'll be all."

"Alright then, I hope you have a fantastic day! And thank you for visiting us." Flashing a pearly white smile the gentleman behind the counter returned to his terminal and set back to his previous task. Making her way back to Blake she found her teammate looking over the M-6 Carnifax. A heavy pistol that deals a massive amount of damage and is highly accurate, although it's weight and price tag leaves something to be desired. "Looking to switch out your Harpy-X?"

"Nah, just window shopping. I wouldn't mind a couple different mods but I really like my handgun overall. Anyway, are we good? Is your friend here?"

"He's not my friend, but yes he's here. He should be out to help us shortly. You need some armor so let's head over to that section. He'll be looking for us there anyway."

Arriving at the armor section of the shop they began scanning through what they shop had in stock. After a moment Blake's eyes landed on a piece of chest plating. Scanning through the item description it read: Serrice Council Chest Plating. Possessing a series of auxiliary power cells along the plating this can increase the duration and power of various technical abilities both on and off the battlefield. Capable of being linked with other combat gear such as visors and weapons it can also provide an extended power source for equipment should their main power sources be depleted. Note: custom color schemes and sizes are available upon request. Credits: 5000

"Looks like that one caught your eye." Weiss says

"Yeah, I like it. Doesn't seem too bulky or heavy and having extra power would be useful. A lot of what I do would put it to good use." Blake says continuing to study it. Using the display she is turning the item around and around as well as modifying the color scheme holographically. Jotting its info down in her omni-tool Blake prepares to move on when a deep voice bellows from behind them.

"Miss Weiss! It is such a pleasure to see you again and welcome to my shop!" standing behind them with arms held wide is a man not much taller than Blake. Standing at about 5'9" and seemingly well-defined muscle wise the man is wearing a dark black and red suit, similar to the one the Turian customer service rep was wearing. With short slicked back hair and a large mustache the man seemed fairly joyful. With a voice that almost literally screamed of Italian the man leaned in and kissed Weiss on both cheeks before stepping back to give space.

"My deepest apologies my friend for the wait. There was a small emergency I was tending to that I had to finish up before I could come. How are you doing today, and what brings you to my shop?"

"Hello Dante, glad to see you're well." With a polite nod Weiss greets him. Gesturing to her right she introduces Blake "Dante, this is my friend Blake. Blake this is Dante, he owns and runs this shop here on the Presidium Commons."

"Ran into is such an understatement! Miss Weiss here saved both my life AND my shop!"

"Oh here he goes again, exaggerating what happened."

"You saved his life?" Turning to Dante "She didn't tell me that part." Blake said in surprise.

"Well that would be Miss Weiss being modest, as usual." He barked out a laugh "But yes, she did. I was being accosted in an alley on my way back home after a long day here at work and she was passing by and gave the thieves a piece of her mind. It was scary actually." He said laughing boisterously. "So in return for her kindness I promised to always make myself available should she come around these parts, and a sizable discount here should she choose to utilize it. For if it wasn't for her the thieves would have made off with one of my master keys for the shop and stolen anything they wanted. That and they could've killed me."

"Well well well look at you being a good Samaritan." Blake grins cheekily

"Uh huh." Waving Blake off Weiss turns to address Dante yet again "Anyway Dante we're here shopping for Blake today. She's in need of a new set of combat armor, and maybe some weapon mods."

"Why of COURSE!" Arms swept wide with a shit-eating grin Blake began to wonder how he had so much energy. _Seriously though, put him in a room with Ruby and Yang and they could probably provide power to the lower wards._ She chuckled internally. "Have you by chance found anything to your fancy Miss Blake?"

"Actually I just had my eye on that Serrice Council chest plate. Past that I haven't really much of an idea."

"Alright. That is a beautiful chest plate and it is from a very reputable manufacturer. I personally am a fan of their work. Theirs and Rosenkov Materials both are what I tend to recommend to customers, if it suits them of course."

"Of course." Weiss states. With that the three of them made their rounds around the shop looking over a large assortment of combat armor pieces. After a couple of hours they make their way to the customer service counter for final checkout.

"Alright Miss Weiss and Miss Blake I have here a set of Serrice Council chest place, a set of Serrice Council shoulder guards, Ariake Technologies gauntlets, Rosenkov Materials greaves, a Mnemonic Visor, and a hush hush order for the M-11 suppressor, special delivered by me personally. Your initial total comes out to 80,000 credits but with your special discount comes out to…59,500 credits." Eyes going wide Blake takes a step back.

"Blake, is there a problem?" Weiss asks with a slight clip of annoyance. Dante also looked up from the terminal, eyebrows raised.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" Stepping away Weiss follows Blake a few paces away "Listen, I know you would cover for me but-"

"No buts Blake, we've been over this. You will pay me back later. Got it?" Not taking any more interjections Weiss walks over and swipes her omni-tool over the payment pad on the counter. "Thank you for everything today Dante. Just let me know when the package is available and I can meet you wherever."

"Of course! Anything for you Miss Weiss, and thank you again for everything!"

"Really it was nothing, don't mention it. And you said the rest of our gear will be waiting for us at our hotel?"

"That is correct Miss Weiss. Is there anything else I can do for you today?" Dante smiles

"I think that will be it. I hope you have a great rest of your day." With a smile Weiss makes her departure from the shop with Blake in tow. Making their way back out onto the commons they head for the main square. Grabbing a seat they take a breather. "So Weiss, where to next?"

"Well there are a few stores I need to hit for myself. Were there any places you needed to hit? As far as I know we got everything you needed."

"Nope, I'm good. And again, thank you. Really, you didn't have to do that even though you think you did." Blake smiled. She hated owing people, and what she now owed Weiss was a great deal. Let's hope they win so she can pay it back.

"When I said don't mention it I meant it. But… you're welcome. We're teammates, we look out for each other."

"Yeah, yeah we do. C'mon, let's keep going."

...

...

Hey everyone, I hope you enjoyed the read. I had a blast writing these chapters so far. I think my favorite parts to write are the combat sections, which rest assured we will be having quite a bit of between the next few chapters.

As always feel free to leave a review or shoot me a message telling me what you think. Good, bad and ugly replies are all appreciated.

Cheers! Until next time


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